JPH0268445A - Blowing grill of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a driving power supply, reduce the number of parts and enable a prevention of a motor driving sound to be carried out by a method wherein a thermo-sensitive part is formed by hydrogen occlusion alloy, an actuator is operated by a hydrogen pressure. CONSTITUTION:When a blown air temperature within an air blowing duct 1 is high, hydrogen is discharged from a hydrogen occlusion alloy 9, so that a hydrogen pressure within a pipe 12 and an actuator 6 is increased. The actuator 6 comprised of bellows is extended due to this increased hydrogen pressure, a rod 15 is moved upwardly and each of flaps 3 is set to direct downwardly. in turn, when the blow air temperature within the duct 1 is low, hydrogen is absorbed into the hydrogen occlusion alloy 9, so that hydraulic pressure within the pipe 12 or the actuator 6 is dropped and thereby the actuator 6 is retracted and the rod 15 is moved downwardly. Each of the flaps 3 is set upwardly. At an intermediate temperature between a high temperature and a low temperature, an angle of each of the flaps 3 is linearly controlled in response to a hydrogen absorbing and discharging characteristic of the hydrogen occlusion alloy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a blow-off grill for an air conditioner in which the direction of the blow-off air changes in accordance with the blow-off temperature.

(Prior Art) In recent years, the outlet grilles of air conditioners have been provided with flaps that vertically adjust the direction of the outlet air.

The adjustment mechanism that controls this flap consists of: ■ a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the blowing air; and an electric actuator that electrically drives and adjusts the flap angle based on the temperature detected by this temperature sensor. The shape memory alloy is arranged on the upstream side of the flap, the shape memory alloy is connected to the flap via a connecting means, and the shape memory alloy is There are some that change the flap angle by expanding and contracting according to the set temperature (for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 60-30656).

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above case (2), since a temperature sensor, an electric actuator, a low-level control device, etc. are required, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and a drive power source is required. Furthermore, there is a drawback that the actuator motor drive noise is generated.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned method (2), since the flap angle is determined by the balance between the shape memory alloy and the bias assisting spring, there is a drawback that it is difficult to set a sharp blowing angle using the flap. Furthermore, since the angle adjustment of the flap depends only on the deformation force of the shape memory alloy, the acting force is small and the angle adjustment is easily influenced by the air volume. Furthermore,
There were problems with poor interior design, such as the shape memory alloy being forced to be placed near the flaps and the shape memory alloy being visible from the outside between the flaps.

Therefore, in the present invention, a heat sensitive part filled with a hydrogen storage alloy,
The purpose of this invention is to solve the above problems by controlling the flap angle using an actuator driven by hydrogen pressure.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The air conditioner outlet grill of the present invention is an air conditioner outlet grill equipped with a flap that changes the angle of outlet air in the vertical direction, and is filled with a hydrogen storage alloy. It is equipped with a heat-sensitive part and an actuator driven by hydrogen pressure that is connected to this heat-sensing part via a pipe.This actuator controls the flap angle upward when there is cold air, and downward when there is warm air. It is configured to do this.

(Function) Therefore, during cold air, the hydrogen in the pipe is absorbed by the hydrogen storage alloy in the heat-sensitive part, and the hydrogen pressure in the pipe decreases.
This causes the actuator to set the flap upward, causing the air to blow upward.

On the other hand, when the wind is warm, hydrogen is released from the hydrogen storage alloy in the heat-sensitive section, increasing the hydrogen pressure in the pipe. This causes the actuator to set the flap downward, causing the air to blow downward. Note that in the intermediate region between cold air and warm air, the flaps are controlled linearly.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show the air outlet of an air conditioner, in which numeral 1 indicates a blower duct and numeral 2 indicates an outlet grill.

The blowout grille 2 is formed into a frame shape and is provided at the outlet of the blower duct 1. A plurality of plate-shaped flaps 3 are rotatably attached to the outlet grille 2 in parallel and horizontally with respect to each other via support shafts 4 on both sides.

Further, a heat-sensitive section 5 is disposed within the air duct 1, and an actuator 6 is attached to the lower part of the blow-off grille 2 by a fixture 7. As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat sensitive section 5, a sealed cylindrical case 8 is filled with a hydrogen storage alloy 9 in an annular shape.

The hydrogen storage alloy 9 is called a metal hydride compound, and in this embodiment, for example, lanthanum nickel (LaNi5), Mitsushi metal nickel (MmNi5), titanium manganese (T
iMn1. ! i), which absorbs hydrogen gas at low temperatures and releases hydrogen gas at high temperatures.

Inside the case 8, there is a filter 10 for removing dust.
A pipe 12 is connected to an opening 11 on the bottom surface of the case. The other end of this pipe 12 is connected to an opening 13 on the lower surface of the actuator 6 formed by a bellows.

A driving rod 14 is provided protruding from the top surface of the actuator 6, and this driving rod 14 is connected to a rod 15 provided vertically on the side of the flap 3, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). It is connected. Further, the rod 15 is connected to a lever 16 fixed to the spindle 4 of each flap 3, and by moving the rod 15 up and down, each flap 3 is simultaneously rotated around the spindle 4 to change their orientation. be able to.

According to such a blowout grille, when the blowing temperature in the blower duct 1 is high (for example, 35° C. to 40° C.), hydrogen is released from the hydrogen storage alloy 9, so that the inside of the pipe 12 and the actuator 6 is hydrogen pressure increases. As a result, the actuator 6 consisting of a bellows is extended, the rod 15 is moved upward as shown in FIG. 1, and each flap 3 is set downward.

On the other hand, when the air temperature inside duct 1 is low (for example, 20
°C), hydrogen is absorbed into the hydrogen storage alloy 9, so the hydrogen pressure inside the pipe 12 and the actuator 6 decreases, causing the actuator 6 to shrink, as shown in FIG. The rod 15 moves downward and each flap 3 is set upward. Also, between high and low temperatures,
The angle of the flap 3 is controlled linearly according to the hydrogen absorption and release characteristics of the hydrogen storage alloy. In addition, even if the heat-sensitive part is formed with a diameter of 6 mm, it weighs several kg,
You can get a lot of power.

In this way, in this example, the adjustment mechanism integrates the heat sensitive part and the actuator, so the number of parts can be reduced, and unlike conventional electric systems, there is no need for a drive power source, and the motor drive noise can be generated. Furthermore, compared to shape memory alloys, it is possible to obtain a larger power, and there is no need to provide a heat-sensitive part near the flap, so the interior design is not hindered. Further, the flaps can be precisely controlled, and the control can be performed with high reliability.

Next, other embodiments will be described.

In this embodiment, the actuator 20 is composed of a cylinder 21 and a piston 22, as shown in FIG.

That is, the pipe 12 is attached to the bottom surface of the cylinder 22 to be sealed.
are in communication with each other, and a piston 22 is inserted into the cylinder 21. The piston 22 has a driving rod 14 extending through the upper surface of the cylinder 21, and a coil spring 24 is compressed in the upper spring chamber 23. Note that 7 is a fixed member.

In this actuator 20, the piston 22 moves up and down according to the hydrogen pressure in the cylinder 21, and the wind direction of the flap 3 is controlled in the same manner as in the previous embodiment, so that the same effect can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, a lever is attached to the flap support shaft and connected to the rod, but instead of the lever, a transmission mechanism using a gear mechanism may be used.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, the heat sensitive part is constructed using a hydrogen storage alloy, and the actuator is configured to be operated by hydrogen pressure. Compared to the above, it has advantages such as no drive power supply is required, the number of parts is reduced, and no motor drive noise is generated.

In addition, compared to those using shape memory alloys, greater power can be obtained, which prevents the negative effects of wind pressure, and allows for easier setting of the blowout angle, allowing for more reliable flap control and improving interior design. It has advantages such as being able to

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1(a) and 3(b) are a schematic vertical cross-sectional view and a front view of an outlet grill with the outlet air directed downward, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the heat-sensitive portion and the actuator, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the actuator according to another embodiment. 2...Blowout grill 5...Heat sensitive part 9...Hydrogen storage alloy

Claims (1)

[Claims] A blowout grill for an air conditioner equipped with a flap that changes the angle of the blowout air in the vertical direction includes a heat sensitive part filled with a hydrogen storage alloy and a heat sensitive part connected to the heat sensitive part via a pipe. and an actuator driven by hydrogen pressure, and the actuator controls the flap angle upward when the air is cold and downward when the air is warm.