JPH09323530A - Viscous heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an early heating at starting in a viscous heater for heating a viscous fluid and exchanging the heat to a circulating fluid within a radiation chamber to utilize it as a heating source by forming the clearance between the wall surface of a heating chamber and the outer surface of a rotor so that the central area is larger than the circumferential area on one longitudinal side in the axial direction. SOLUTION: In the state before starting where an electromagnetic clutch MC is OFF, silicone coil is interposed in the center area of a clearance. When a heater is started by turning ON the electromagnetic clutch MC in this state, a rotor 12 is rotated within a heating chamber 7, and a centrifugal force acts on the silicone oil to spread the silicone oil to the whole clearance. The silicone oil generates a heat by shearing in the clearance between the wall surface of the heating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 12, and this generated heat is exchanged to circulating water within a water jacket WJ. The clearance between the wall surface of the heating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 12 is gradually contracted from the center area to the circumferential part longitudinally in the axial direction. Thus, the early heating at starting can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a viscous heater in which a viscous fluid generates heat by shearing and exchanges heat with a circulating fluid circulating in a radiating chamber for use as a heating heat source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-98107 discloses a viscous heater with variable capacity. In this viscous heater, the front and rear housings are fastened in a state of being opposed to each other, and a heating chamber is formed inside and a water jacket is formed outside the heating chamber. In the water jacket, circulating water is taken in from an inlet port and circulated from an outlet port to be sent to an external heating circuit. A drive shaft is rotatably supported on the front and rear housings via a bearing device, and a rotor rotatable in the heat generating chamber is fixed to the drive shaft. The wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor form an axial labyrinth groove that is close to each other, and a viscous fluid such as silicon oil is interposed in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor.

Further, as a characteristic configuration of the viscous heater, an upper and lower cover having a diaphragm therein is provided below the front and rear housings, and a control room is defined by the upper cover and the diaphragm. The heating chamber is communicated with the atmosphere through through holes formed at the upper ends of the front and rear housings, and is communicated with the control chamber through communication pipes provided in the upper and lower covers, and the diaphragm has a manifold negative pressure and a coil. The internal volume of the control chamber can be adjusted by a spring or the like.

In this viscous heater incorporated in a vehicle heating device, if a drive shaft is driven by an engine,
Since the rotor rotates in the heating chamber, the viscous fluid generates heat by shearing in the gap between the wall surface of the heating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor.
This heat is exchanged with the circulating water in the water jacket, and the heated circulating water is supplied to the heating of the vehicle in the heating circuit.

According to the publication, the change in the performance of the viscous heater has the following effect. That is, when the heating is excessive, the diaphragm is displaced downward by the manifold negative pressure to increase the internal volume of the control room. As a result, the viscous fluid in the heat generating chamber is recovered in the control chamber,
The amount of heat generated in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor is reduced, and heating is weakened. On the contrary, when the heating is weak, the diaphragm is displaced upward by the action of the air pressure adjusting hole and the coil spring to reduce the internal volume of the control chamber. This causes the viscous fluid in the control chamber to be sent out into the heat generating chamber, so that the amount of heat generated in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor increases, and heating is enhanced.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional viscous heater, whether it is of the fixed capacity type or not,
Even if the capacity is variable, the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor in the front and rear in the axial direction is equal in the central region and the outer peripheral region, so it is difficult to achieve the joy of early heating at startup. It became clear.

That is, in the viscous heater, if the viscosity coefficient is μ, the radius of the rotor is R, the length of the gap between the wall surface of the heating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor in the axial direction is δ, and the angular velocity is ω, the front and rear surfaces are The heat generation amount L in L is L = πμωR ⁴ / δ, and it is known that the narrower the gap, the better the heat generation capability.

On the other hand, viscous fluid is present in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor, and inevitable air remains during assembly. Then, if the viscous fluid is moving below the gap due to its own weight and is started via the electromagnetic clutch and pulley from the state before the start,
In a viscous heater in which the entire axial gap is narrowed, the viscous fluid is less likely to spread from the lower part to the entire gap, probably because centrifugal force is less likely to act on the viscous fluid immediately after starting.

However, if the entire gap in the axial direction is widened, it becomes impossible to secure a suitable heat generation capacity from the above relational expression. Thus, it is difficult for the conventional viscous heater to exhibit the joy of early heating at startup. Although the above-mentioned conventional viscous heater is excellent as a variable capacity type, when the viscous fluid is recovered from the heat generating chamber into the control chamber, the negative pressure in the heat generating chamber due to the new air is introduced by the through hole. Offsetting. Thus, the viscous fluid comes into contact with new air every time the capacity is reduced, and the moisture in the air is replenished as needed, and the deterioration tends to proceed due to the moisture. Therefore, the inventors have proposed a viscous heater in which a storage chamber (control chamber) communicating with the central region of the heat generating chamber and the recovery passage and the supply passage is arranged in a sealed state in the housing (Japanese Patent Application No. 7-285266). issue). In this viscous heater, the viscous fluid can be recovered from the heat generating chamber to the storage chamber (control chamber) by the recovery passage and the viscous fluid is stored by the supply passage by the Weissenberg effect and the unavoidable expansion and contraction of the air inside. Room (control room)
Can be supplied to the heat generating chamber. And this way,
The viscous fluid interposed in the heat generating chamber or the like does not come into contact with new air, and the moisture in the air is not always replenished, so that it is less likely to deteriorate.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional viscous heater, if the volume of the control chamber at the time of expansion is made substantially equal to the volume of the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor, the internal volume of the control chamber will be expanded or reduced. Since the viscous fluid is merely moving between the control chamber and the heat generating chamber, there is no margin in the amount of the viscous fluid to be sheared, and deterioration of the viscous fluid is likely to occur. In this respect, in the viscous heater that the inventors previously proposed, it was considered that a relatively large amount of viscous fluid and unavoidable air are contained in the storage chamber (control chamber). It becomes possible to provide a margin and delay the deterioration of the viscous fluid.

However, in the proposed viscous heater, the Weissenberg effect cannot be effectively exerted if the entire axial front and rear gaps are also narrowed. Therefore, if the viscous heater is of a variable capacity type, although it is possible to exhibit the joy of delaying the deterioration of the viscous fluid due to moisture, it is difficult to quickly collect the viscous fluid from the heat generating chamber to the storage chamber via the recovery passage, It is difficult to reduce capacity quickly. The viscous heater of both fixed capacity type and variable capacity type has a heating chamber and a storage chamber (control chamber).
It is difficult to quickly exchange the viscous fluid between and, and only a specific viscous fluid is likely to be sheared at all times, resulting in deterioration of the viscous fluid. Deterioration of the viscous fluid reduces the heat generation efficiency of the viscous heater after long-term use.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a viscous heater capable of exhibiting the joy of early heating at startup regardless of whether the capacity is fixed or variable. A second object of the present invention is to provide a viscous heater which is of variable capacity type and which is capable of rapidly reducing the capacity while exhibiting the joy of delaying deterioration of the viscous fluid due to moisture.

A third object of the present invention is that, regardless of the fixed capacity type and the variable capacity type, only a specific viscous fluid is constantly sheared while exhibiting the joy of delaying deterioration of the viscous fluid due to moisture. An object of the present invention is to provide a viscous heater capable of reliably exhibiting the joy of delaying the deterioration of the viscous fluid due to.

[0014]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) The viscous heater according to claim 1 is rotatably supported by a housing that internally forms a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber that circulates a circulating fluid adjacent to the heat generating chamber, and a bearing device in the housing. A drive shaft, a rotor rotatably provided in the heat generating chamber by the drive shaft, and a viscosity that is generated in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor and is heated by the rotation of the rotor. In a viscous heater having a fluid, the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor is characterized in that the central region is larger than the outer peripheral region on at least one side in the axial front-rear direction.

In this viscous heater, a large amount of viscous fluid may be present in the central region of the gap before starting. Therefore, if the viscous fluid is moving below the gap due to its own weight before starting through the electromagnetic clutch or pulley, the rotor rotates around the axis in the heat generating chamber, It is considered that the centrifugal force is likely to act on the viscous fluid quickly, and the viscous fluid easily spreads from the bottom to the entire gap.

Further, in this viscous heater, the gap in the outer peripheral area can be narrowed, and the peripheral speed is large in the outer peripheral area because it is far from the axis, so that a suitable heat generating capacity can be secured. Thus, this viscous heater can exhibit the joy of early heating at the time of startup regardless of whether the fixed capacity type or the variable capacity type. (2) A viscous heater according to a second aspect is the viscous heater according to the first aspect, in which a housing is provided with a storage chamber that is in communication with the central region of the heat generating chamber and the recovery passage and the supply passage in a sealed state. Is characterized by.

The storage chamber becomes a control chamber in a variable capacity viscous heater if it has an internal temperature detecting means such as a bimetal spiral spring. In this viscous heater, in addition to the centrifugal force acting at the time of starting as described above, when the Weissenberg effect is exerted by the continuous rotation of the rotor, a large amount of viscous fluid can be collected in the central region of the gap.

For this reason, if the viscous heater is of a variable capacity type, it is possible to exhibit the joy of delaying the deterioration of the viscous fluid due to moisture, and to rapidly recover the viscous fluid from the heat generating chamber into the reservoir chamber through the recovery passage. It is easy to do, and it is easy to quickly reduce the capacity. Further, regardless of whether the viscous heater is of fixed capacity type or variable capacity type, this viscous heater can easily exchange viscous fluid between the heat generating chamber and the reservoir chamber (control chamber). Therefore, in this viscous heater, if a relatively large amount of viscous fluid and unavoidable air are stored in the storage chamber (control chamber) or the like, it is possible to exhibit the joy of delaying deterioration of the viscous fluid due to moisture. , Because there is a margin in the amount of viscous fluid to be sheared and only a specific viscous fluid is not always sheared,
Less likely to deteriorate viscous fluid.

(3) A viscous heater according to claim 3 is the viscous heater according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rotor is processed to secure a gap. The gap according to claims 1 and 2 can be obtained by processing at least one of the housing and the rotor. The machining of the rotor is easy because of its outer surface. Therefore, in this case, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(4) The viscous heater according to claim 4 is the viscous heater according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the housing forms one wall surface of the heat generating chamber at one end surface and one wall surface of the heat radiating chamber at the other end surface. And a remaining housing body, and the plate is processed to secure a gap. If a housing having a plate and a housing body is adopted, the housing can be easily manufactured, and the outer surface of the plate is machined at that time to obtain the gap according to claim 1, 2 or 3. Easy to process. Therefore, in this case, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(5) A viscous heater according to claim 5 is the viscous heater according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the gap is secured by a taper around the axis. If the gap according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 is ensured by the taper around the axis, the viscous fluid tends to spread to the outer peripheral region, although the machining by cutting is a little troublesome.

(6) The viscous heater according to claim 6 is the viscous heater according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the gap is secured by a step formed in a ring shape around the axis. And If the gap according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 is secured by the step formed in the shape of a ring around the axis, for example, machining by cutting is easy. Therefore, in this case, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(7) The viscous heater according to claim 7 is the viscous heater according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the gap is gradually reduced from the central region to the outer peripheral region. Is characterized by. In this viscous heater, the spreading of the viscous fluid to the outer peripheral area is more effectively promoted.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments 1 to 4 embodying the invention described in each claim will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) The viscous heater of Embodiment 1 is a fixed capacity type, and claims 1, 4, 6, and 7 are embodied.

That is, in this viscous heater, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, an O-ring 4 is provided between the front housing 1, the rear plate 2 and the rear housing body 3 which form the housing, and an O ring 4 is provided between the rear plate 2 and the rear housing body 3. And a plurality of through bolts 6 are fastened in a laminated state via gaskets 5.

A recess is provided in the rear end surface of the front housing 1, and the inner bottom surface of the recess is, as shown in FIG.
A ring-shaped step 1a is formed around the axis so that the central area is deeper than the outer area. Also, the rear plate 2
Also on the front end face of the above, a step 2a concentric with the step 1a is recessed so that the central region is deeper than the outer peripheral region. And
The concave portion of the front housing 1 having the step 1a forms a heat generating chamber 7 together with the front end surface of the rear plate 2 having the step 2a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear plate 2
The rear end surface and the inner surface of the rear housing body 3 form a water jacket WJ as a heat dissipation chamber adjacent to the heat generating chamber 7, and a water inlet port 8 and a water outlet port (not shown) are formed on the rear surface of the rear housing body 3. , Water entry port 8
And the outflow port are communicated with the water jacket WJ.

Further, the front housing 1 is provided with a shaft sealing device 9 and a bearing device 10 adjacent to the heat generating chamber 7, and the drive shaft 11 is rotatable via the shaft sealing device 9 and the bearing device 10. It is supported. A flat plate-shaped rotor 12 rotatable in the heat generating chamber 7 is press-fitted into the rear end of the drive shaft 11, and silicon oil as a viscous fluid is interposed in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 12. ing. Thus
As shown in FIG. 2, the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 12 has a length T in the central region in the front and rear in the axial direction,
In the outer peripheral region, the length is t (t <T), and the length is gradually reduced from the central region to the outer peripheral region.

Here, in this viscous heater, the housing is easy because the rear plate 2 and the rear housing body 3 constitute a part of the housing. Moreover, since the outer surface of the plate 2 is processed to cut the steps 1a and 2a during the manufacture of the housing to obtain a gap, the processing is easy. Therefore, this viscous heater can be manufactured at low cost.

The drive shaft 11 of this viscous heater
An electromagnetic clutch MC is coupled to the. Here, a clutch rotor 14 is rotatably supported on the boss 1b of the front housing 1 via a bearing device 13, and the boss 1b is rotatably supported.
The exciting coil 15 should be located in the clutch rotor 14.
Is provided. Then, the hub 18 is fixed by screwing the bolt 16 onto the drive shaft 11 and press-fitting the key 17, and the hub 18 is fixed to the armature 21 via the rubber member 19 and the flange 20. The clutch rotor 14 is rotated by a belt by an engine of a vehicle (not shown).

In this viscous heater incorporated in the vehicle heating system, the silicone oil moves to the lower part of the gap by its own weight before starting when the electromagnetic clutch MC is OFF. At this time, a large amount of silicone oil is present in the central area of the gap. And the electromagnetic clutch M
It is considered that when the C is activated by being turned on, the rotor 12 rotates in the heat generating chamber 7 about the axis, so that centrifugal force quickly acts on the silicone oil after that, and the silicone oil is separated from below by a gap. Easy to spread throughout Then, the silicon oil is applied to the entire wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 and the rotor 12
Generates heat due to shearing in the gap between all outer surfaces of the. This heat is exchanged with the circulating water as the circulating fluid in the water jacket WJ, and the heated circulating water is used for heating the vehicle in the heating circuit.

Further, in this viscous heater, since the gap in the outer peripheral region is the length t smaller than the length T in the central region,
The large peripheral speed ensures a suitable heat generation capacity. Thus, with this viscous heater, the joy of early heating at the time of startup can be exhibited, and the deterioration of the silicone oil can be prevented from lowering the heat generation efficiency after endurance after long-term use.

(Embodiment 2) A viscous heater according to Embodiment 2 is of a variable capacity type.
Has been embodied. That is, in this viscous heater, as shown in FIG. 3, a front housing body 31, a front plate 32, and a rear plate 33 that form a housing.
And the rear housing body 34 is the front housing body 31.
And a gasket 35 between the front plate 32 and the O-ring 36 between the front plate 32 and the rear plate 33,
A gasket 37 is interposed between the rear plate 33 and the rear housing main body 34, and they are fastened together by a plurality of through bolts 38 in a laminated state.

A recess is provided in the rear end surface of the front plate 32, and a step 32a similar to that of the first embodiment is provided in the inner bottom surface of the recess. Further, a step 33a similar to that of the first embodiment is also provided as a recess on the front end surface of the rear plate 33. The concave portion of the front plate 32 having the step 32a forms the heat generating chamber 39 together with the front end surface of the rear plate 33 having the step 33a.

Further, the front plate 32 has a boss 32b extending in the front axial direction at the center, and a shaft sealing device 40 is provided in the boss 32b. The rear plate 33 has a first recovery hole 33b penetrating to the rear end surface at a position above the central area and a first supply hole 33c penetrating to the rear end surface at a position below the central area. There is. The inner surface of the front housing body 31 and the front end surface of the front plate 32 form a front water jacket FW as a front heat dissipation chamber adjacent to the front of the heat generating chamber 39. On the other hand, the rear housing body 34 has an inner rib 34 that abuts the gasket 37.
a and the outer rib 34b are projected in a ring shape, and the rear end of the rear plate 33 and the rear housing main body 34 and the inner surface of the rear housing body 34 outside the outer rib 34b are adjacent to the rear of the heat generating chamber 39 and serve as a rear heat radiating chamber. Water jacket R
A control chamber C that forms W and has a rear end surface of the rear plate 33 and an inner surface of the rear housing body 34 surrounded by the inner ribs 34a and the outer ribs 34b also serves as a storage chamber.
R is formed.

A water inlet / outlet port (not shown) is formed adjacent to the rear surface of the rear housing body 34, and the water inlet / outlet port is communicated with the rear water jacket RW. A plurality of water channels 41 are provided at equal intervals between the through bolts 38 on the rear plate 33 and the front plate 32,
The front water jacket FW and the rear water jacket RW are connected by a water channel 41.

In the control chamber CR of the rear housing main body 34, the outer end of the bimetal spiral spring 42 as an internal temperature detecting means is locked to the inner rib 34a, and the rear end of the inner end of the bimetal spiral spring 42 is the rear housing. A valve shaft 43 rotatably supported on the bottom of the main body 34 is locked. The bimetal spiral spring 42 is set at a predetermined temperature for displacement based on the set heating temperature extremes or weaknesses. A disc-shaped rotary valve 45 is fixed to the tip of the valve shaft 43, and the rotary valve 45 is formed between the inner rib 34a and the disc spring 44 by a disc spring 44 to control the first recovery hole 33b and the first supply hole 33c. It is pressed in a direction to close the CR side opening. A second recovery hole 45a and a second recovery hole 45b, which can communicate with the first recovery hole 33b or the first supply hole 33d depending on the rotation angle, are formed through the rotary valve 45.

A boss 31a extending in the front axial direction is provided on the front housing body 31 so as to project therefrom.
A bearing device 46 is provided inside. The drive shaft 47 is rotatably supported via the bearing device 46 and the shaft sealing device 40. A heat generating chamber 39 is provided at the center of the drive shaft 47.
A flat plate-shaped rotor 48 rotatable inside is press-fitted. Then, a relatively large amount of silicone oil as a viscous fluid and unavoidable air are stored in the control chamber CR. As a result, silicone oil is interposed below the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber 39 and the outer surface of the rotor 48.

The drive shaft 47 of this viscous heater
A pulley 49 is connected to the shaft by a bolt 50. The pulley 49 is rotated by a belt by a vehicle engine (not shown). In this viscous heater incorporated in a vehicle heating system, silicon oil moves below the gap due to its own weight before starting when the engine is stopped. At this time, a large amount of silicone oil is present in the central area of the gap.

When the engine is started by being started, the drive shaft 47 is driven by the belt via the pulley 50, and the rotor 48 rotates about the axis in the heat generating chamber 39. It is considered that centrifugal force quickly acts on the silicone oil after that, and the silicone oil is likely to spread from the bottom to the entire gap. Then, the silicon oil generates heat by shearing in the gap between the entire wall surface of the heat generating chamber 39 and the entire outer surface of the rotor 48. This heat is exchanged with the circulating water as the circulating fluid in the front and rear water jackets FW and RW, and the heated circulating water is supplied to the heating of the vehicle by the heating circuit.

During this time, if the rotor 48 is still rotated, the silicon oil in the heat generating chamber 39 tends to collect in the central region due to the Weissenberg effect. At this time,
With this viscous heater, a large amount of silicone oil can be collected in the central region of the gap. Here, control room C
If the temperature of the silicone oil in R is low, the heating is too weak, so the bimetal spiral spring 42 normally rotates the rotary valve 45 via the valve shaft 43, and the first recovery hole 33b and the second recovery hole 4 are rotated.
5a is closed, the first supply hole 33c and the second supply hole 4
Communicate with 5b. Therefore, the silicone oil collected in the control chamber CR is supplied into the heat generating chamber 39 via the second supply hole 45b and the first supply hole 33c. Therefore, the amount of heat generated in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber 39 and the outer surface of the rotor 48 increases (capacity expansion), and heating is strengthened.

On the other hand, if the temperature of the silicone oil in the control chamber CR becomes high, the heating is becoming too strong, so the bimetal spiral spring 42 reverses the rotary valve 45 via the valve shaft 43, and the first recovery is performed. The hole 33b and the second recovery hole 45a are communicated with each other, and the communication between the first supply hole 33c and the second supply hole 45b is closed. Therefore, the silicone oil in the heat generating chamber 39 is the first
It is quickly recovered in the control chamber CR via the recovery hole 33b and the second recovery hole 45a. For this reason, the amount of heat generated in the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber 39 and the outer surface of the rotor 48 is rapidly reduced (capacity reduction), and heating is quickly weakened.

In this way, in this viscous heater, the silicon oil is quickly exchanged between the heat generating chamber 39 and the control chamber CR. For this reason, in this viscous heater, a relatively large amount of silicon oil and unavoidable air are stored in the control chamber CR, etc., so that there is a margin in the amount of silicon oil that is sheared, and only certain silicon oil is generated. Since it is not always sheared, deterioration of the silicone oil is unlikely to occur.

The other actions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment. (Third Embodiment) The viscous heater according to the third embodiment is a fixed-capacity type in which claims 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 are embodied. That is, in this viscous heater, as shown in FIG. 4, only the concave portion is provided on the rear end surface of the front housing 51, and the rear plate 52 having a flat front end surface is employed. Then, the taper 53 around the axis is formed on the front and rear end faces.
The rotor 53 obtained by cutting a is adopted. In this way, a gap is secured. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment,
The same components are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this viscous heater, the rotor 53 can be easily manufactured by tapering the outer surface of the rotor 53, and the front housing 51 and the rear plate 52 can also be manufactured relatively easily because they have a relatively simple shape. Therefore, it can be manufactured at a lower cost. The other actions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 4) The viscous heater of Embodiment 4 is a fixed-capacity type in which claims 1, 4, 5, and 7 are embodied. That is, in this viscous heater, as shown in FIG. 5, a taper 54 around the axis is formed on the inner bottom surface of the recess.
In addition to adopting the front housing 54 in which a is cut,
A rear plate 55, which has a taper 55a around the axial center cut on the front end face, is used. Then, as in the first embodiment, the flat plate-shaped rotor 12 is adopted. In this way, a gap is secured. Since other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment, the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Also in this viscous heater, the rear plate 55 can be easily manufactured by tapering its outer surface, and the front housing 54 can be relatively easily manufactured by tapering its inner surface. Therefore, it can be similarly manufactured at low cost. The other actions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a viscous heater and the like according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the viscous heater according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a viscous heater and the like according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a viscous heater according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a viscous heater according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

7, 39 ... Heat generating chamber WJ, FW, RW ... Radiating chamber (water jacket) 1, 2, 33, 3, 34, 31, 32 ... Housing (1
... front housing, 2, 33 ... rear plates, 3, 34
... rear plate body, 31 ... front housing body, 32
... front plate) 10, 46 ... bearing device 11, 47 ... drive shaft 12, 48 ... rotor 33b, 45a ... recovery passage (33b ... first recovery passage, 4)
5a ... second recovery passage 33c, 45b ... supply passage (33c ... first supply passage, 4)
5b ... 2nd supply passage) CR ... Reservoir (control room) 53a, 54a, 55a ... Taper 1a, 2a, 32a, 33a ... Step

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Tatsuya Hirose 2-1-1 Toyota-cho, Kariya City, Aichi Stock Company Toyota Industries Corp.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A housing which internally forms a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber which circulates a circulating fluid adjacent to the heat generating chamber, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing via a bearing device, and A viscous heater having a rotor rotatably provided in the heat generating chamber by the drive shaft and a viscous fluid interposed in a gap between a wall surface of the heat generating chamber and an outer surface of the rotor and generating heat by the rotation of the rotor. In the viscous heater, the gap between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber and the outer surface of the rotor is larger in the central region than in the outer peripheral region on at least one side in the axial direction. 2. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein a storage chamber, which is communicated with the central region of the heat generating chamber and the recovery passage and the supply passage, is disposed in a sealed state in the housing. 3. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is processed to secure a gap. 4. The housing has a plate whose one end surface forms one wall surface of the heat generating chamber and whose other end surface forms one wall surface of the heat radiating chamber, and the remaining housing body, and secures a gap in the plate. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein the viscous heater is processed. 5. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein the gap is secured by a taper around the axis. 6. The gap is ensured by a step formed in a ring shape around the axis.
The viscous heater according to 2, 3, or 4. 7. The gap is gradually reduced from the central region to the outer peripheral region.
The viscous heater according to 5 or 6.