JPH0444174B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a wind direction switching device disposed in the air path of an air conditioner or the like to change the wind direction. This invention relates to a wind direction switching device using a shape memory alloy that changes shape by sensing the temperature of the air blowing out.

Structure of conventional example and its problems As a conventional wind direction switching device using a shape memory alloy (hereinafter referred to as SMA), devices as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 have been considered. That is, in this figure, a is an automatic wind direction switching device using SMA installed at the air outlet of an air conditioner, etc., which is installed to sense the air duct temperature in the air path of an air conditioner, etc., and a variable blade that changes the wind direction. a wing b, a rotation axis c of the wing b, an operating rod e that protrudes rearward from one end of the wing b and has an opening d partially hollowed out in an oval shape, and passes through the opening d. Guide rod f and
A coil spring g made of SMA and a coil spring g are arranged to surround the guide rod f and actuate the operating rod e.
and a bias coil spring h provided in contact with the bias coil spring h. the two coil springs g,
The springs h are provided above and below with the operating rod e in between, and each spring has an operating protrusion i, j at its tip that closely slides on the operating rod e. Also,
The guide rod f is fixed to a frame m having fixing points k and l on the upper and lower sides, and the frame m is attached to a side wall of the air conditioner or the like with screws n or the like.

With the above configuration, when the SMA coil spring g is heated by warm air during heating operation and reaches a temperature exceeding the transformation temperature (approximately 30°C), it generates a large force and stretches as shown in Figure 1, causing the above-mentioned pair to extending to a point where it is in balance with the bias coil spring h in contact with it, compressing the coil spring h and pushing up the operating rod e;
As a result, the wing b is rotated about the rotation axis c and tilted forward and downward. Therefore, the hot air is blown downward as shown by the arrow. However, when the temperature of the hot air decreases due to a decrease in heating capacity during heating operation, or when the SMA coil spring g falls below its transformation temperature during cooling operation, the SMA coil spring succumbs to the repulsive force of the compressed bias spring h. g contracts;
As a result, wing b is tilted forward and upward, and cold air is blown upward.

Here, in the above configuration, the guide rod f is a rod having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the coil spring g so that the coil spring g can extend smoothly. Therefore, when the SMA coil spring g is heated by hot air, the heating of the SMA coil spring g is delayed due to the large heat capacity of the guide rod f and poor ventilation as shown in Figure 3. The elongation becomes slower. That is, it takes time for the wing b to tilt forward and downward. Furthermore, in the summer, when the ambient temperature is above the transformation point of the SMA coil spring g and the coil spring g is stretched, it is cooled by the cold air of the air conditioning operation, and the wing b tilts upward for the same reason. It takes time. As mentioned above, there was a drawback that the temperature response was poor.

Purpose of the Invention Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and provide an automatic wind direction switching device with excellent temperature responsiveness, in which an SMA coil spring expands and contracts in a short time, quickly moves the wing, and changes the wind direction. shall be.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the guide rod that passes through the center of the SMA coil spring of the automatic wind direction switching device installed in the air path is flat and has a good thermal conductivity with many holes around the guide rod. By arranging the long side of the pipe so that it is parallel to the wind direction, the SMA coil spring heats up faster and more uniformly than before, allowing the variable blades to move smoothly.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 4 to 9, 1 is a ceiling-mounted heat pump type air conditioner, 2 is its main body, 3 is a suction port formed on the back of the main body 2, 4 is a fan, 5 is a heat exchanger, and 6 is a heater. , 7 is an air outlet formed on the front surface of the main body 2, and 8 is an automatic wind direction switching device provided within this air outlet 7. Reference numeral 9 denotes a variable blade provided over the entire width inside the air outlet 7, and both ends of its rotating shaft 9' are rotatably fixed to the side wall 2' of the main body 2.

An operating lever 10 is extended and fixed at one rear end of the variable blade 9, and a part of the operating lever 10 is formed with an oval opening 11. A guide rod 12 made of a pipe made of copper or the like with good heat conductivity is passed through the guide rod 12 which is flat and has many holes 12' around the periphery, and this guide rod 12 is fixed to a frame 15 having fixing points 13 and 14 at the top and bottom. The frame body 15 is attached to the side wall 2' of the air conditioner with screws 16 or the like. Then, surrounding the guide rod 12, with the operating lever 10 in between, a coil spring 17 made of SMA is placed above and below, and a bias coil spring 1 is in contact with the coil spring 17.
8 are arranged, and at the tip of each spring there is an operating protrusion 19, 2 that closely slides on the operating lever 10.
It has 0. Here, the above-mentioned flat guide rod 1
2 is arranged so that the long side of the guide rod 12 is parallel to the wind flow, as shown in FIG.

With the above configuration, the ceiling-mounted heat pump air conditioner 1 is operated for heating to maintain a constant temperature (approximately
When hot air (40~60℃) is blown out, the SMA coil spring 17 is heated to a transformation temperature (approximately 30~40℃).
If it becomes more than that, it will grow as shown in Figure 5. Here, the guide rod 12 has a flat pipe shape and has a large number of holes 12' around its periphery, so it has a small heat capacity, and is arranged so that its long side is parallel to the wind direction as shown in FIG. Because of this, it has extremely good ventilation compared to conventional products. Therefore, the SMA coil spring 17 is quickly and uniformly heated and expanded in a short time. the result,
The variable blade 9 tilts forward and downward in a shorter time than in the past, and hot air is blown out downward as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the heating operation is stopped or during the cooling operation, the SMA coil spring 17 is cooled below its transformation temperature (approximately 30 degrees Celsius), so it becomes compressed as shown by the broken line in FIG. Therefore, the cold air is blown upward as shown by the broken line in FIGS. 4 and 5.

As described above, as the guide rod 12, a flat pipe made of copper or the like having a large number of holes around the periphery and having good thermal conductivity is used, and furthermore, the guide rod 12 is arranged so that the long side thereof is parallel to the wind direction. As a result, the SMA coil spring 17 is heated more quickly and uniformly than the conventional example, and is expanded in a short time. Therefore, it is possible to provide an automatic wind direction switching device with excellent response speed.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the automatic wind direction switching device of the present invention automatically operates variable blades that change the wind direction arranged in the air path of an air conditioner or the like using a shape memory alloy coil spring. Furthermore, the guide rod that passes through the center of the shape memory alloy coil spring is made of a flat pipe made of copper or the like with good thermal conductivity and has many holes around it, and the long side of this flat pipe is Since it is arranged parallel to the flow, the shape memory alloy coil spring is heated quickly and uniformly during heating, compared to the case where a cylindrical guide rod with a large heat capacity is used as in the conventional example. In a short period of time, the variable wings will move forward and downward. Also, during cooling, the variable blades move upward in a short period of time. Therefore, it is possible to provide an automatic wind direction switching device with excellent response speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of a conventional automatic wind direction switching device, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -' in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of the shape memory alloy coil spring and the guide rod, and Fig. 4 The figure is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner equipped with an automatic wind direction switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a side view of the automatic wind direction switching device, and FIG.
7 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of the guide rod and the coil spring, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the same arrangement. 7... Air outlet, 9... Variable blade, 12... Guide rod, 17... Coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable variable blade disposed within the air outlet to change the wind direction, a coil spring made of a shape memory alloy that operates the variable blade by sensing the air outlet temperature, and a guide rod passing through the center of the coil spring. and an automatic wind direction switching device, wherein the guide rod is formed of a flat, highly heat conductive pipe having a large number of holes around the circumference, and the long side of the pipe is arranged parallel to the flow of the wind.