JPH10109527A - Variable capacity type viscous heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a viscous heater which is capable of self-control of a heat generation capacity so as to maintain stable heat generation, regardless of the change of a driving force from an outer drive source. SOLUTION: A rotor 20 and viscous fluid are stored in a heat generation room 7 partitioned in a housing. The rotor 20 is provided with a pair of semi-circle ring shape rotor pieces 23 and respective rotor piece 23 is movable in a rotor radius direction along a support pin 22 constitution the rotor 20. A heat generation area is formed between a first inner wall surface 71 near the center area of the heat generation room 7 and an evacuation room 30 an non-heat generation area is formed between a second inner wall surface 72 in the circumference of the heat generation room 7. At the low speed rotation time of the rotor 20, entire rotor piece 23 is arranged in the heat generation area by the operation of an energizing spring 24. At the high speed rotation time of the rotor 20, the entire rotor piece 23 is evacuated to an evacuation room 30 against an energizing spring 24 by the operation of a centrifugal force and a heat generation is restrained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention divides a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber in a housing, and generates heat by shearing a viscous fluid stored in the heat generating chamber by a rotor also stored in the heat generating chamber. The present invention relates to a viscous heater for exchanging this heat with a circulating fluid flowing through the radiating chamber, and more particularly to a viscous heater of a variable capacity type.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various heater devices that utilize the driving force of a vehicle engine have been proposed as auxiliary heat sources for use in vehicles. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-64612 discloses a heat generator that is incorporated in a vehicle heating device and generates heat by mechanical friction.

A shaft (drive shaft) is rotatably supported in a casing of the heat generator via a bearing device. A movable wall slidable along the shaft is provided on the shaft, and the movable wall defines a variable volume compartment in the casing. In this compartment, a plurality of first friction disks are spline-connected to the shaft so as to be movable in the axial direction of the shaft. Therefore, each first friction disk rotates together with the shaft. In the compartment, a plurality of second friction disks are provided on the inner wall of the casing so as to be non-rotatable but movable in the axial direction. The first friction disks and the second friction disks are alternately arranged in the compartment. The shaft and the first friction disk function as a rotor, and the second friction disk functions as a stator in frictional contact with the first friction disk.

[0004] A heat transfer fluid such as engine cooling water (for example, a mixture of water and glycol) is circulated through the compartment. That is, the heat transfer fluid introduced into the compartment is circulated in such a manner that the heat transfer fluid is discharged from the compartment after passing through the area of the friction disk group, and is returned to the compartment via the external heat exchanger. . At this time, with the rotation of the shaft and the first friction disk by the external driving force, the first rotating
Heat is generated by the mechanical friction between the friction disc and the stationary second friction disc, which is transferred to the heat transfer fluid.

[0005] The external driving force is provided by the engine of the vehicle, but the vehicle engine is used with a large fluctuation in the rotational speed due to its nature. On the other hand, it is desirable that the auxiliary heat source for the vehicle has a stable heat generation capability without being affected by fluctuations in the engine speed. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional heat generator, the movable wall is moved back and forth due to a change in the number of revolutions of the engine, and accordingly, the contact pressure between the friction disks is finely changed to adjust the heat generation capacity. ing. Specifically, a diaphragm spring that changes the spring force according to the rotation speed of the shaft is arranged behind the movable wall, or a gear pump is provided on the shaft, and the heat transfer fluid according to the rotation speed of the shaft is provided. Various measures are taken such as generating a flow and using the variable fluid pressure to appropriately displace the movable wall and the first friction disk.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional heat generator, a large number of movable members (movable walls, first and second friction disks) movable in the axial direction in the casing.
Must be provided, and the complexity of the machine is inevitable. This is not preferable from the viewpoint of ease of manufacture, durability and reliability as a machine.

[0007] The feasibility of generating heat by mechanical friction between the disks is questionable. For example, it is conceivable that the durability of the friction disk and the shavings generated by the friction are mixed into the engine cooling water and hinder the fluid transportation and the like. Furthermore, as a more fundamental question, while the above-mentioned conventional heat generator aims at variably adjusting the heat generation capacity, the contact pressure between the disks is reduced due to the heat generation principle of utilizing the mechanical friction between the disks. There is a case in which it is hardly considered that the control can realize a fine heat generation amount control that can satisfy practical requirements.

An object of the present invention is to provide a heater device which employs a heat generation principle based on shearing of a viscous fluid, which is different from the heat generation principle due to mechanical friction in the above-mentioned prior art. Regardless, it is an object of the present invention to provide a variable-capacity viscous heater capable of self-adjusting the heat generation capacity so as to maintain stable heat generation, and having excellent durability and reliability.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber are defined in a housing, and the viscous fluid stored in the heat generating chamber is sheared by a rotor also stored in the heat generating chamber. In the viscous heater for generating heat at the radiating chamber and exchanging the heat with the circulating fluid flowing through the radiating chamber, the rotor includes a plurality of rotor pieces divided based on a virtual line extending in a radial direction from a rotation axis thereof. Each rotor piece has a shearing surface facing the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber, and at least one of the plurality of rotor pieces is provided so as to be movable in a rotor radial direction. The gist of the invention is that the inner wall surface is formed so that a gap between the movable rotor piece and the shearing action surface of the rotor piece is different depending on the arrangement of the rotor piece in the rotor radial direction.

According to this viscous heater, a centrifugal force of a magnitude corresponding to the rotation speed of the rotor acts on at least the rotor piece movable in the radial direction. Since the rotor piece is movable in the radial direction, it can take various arrangements along the radial direction in the heat generating chamber according to the magnitude of the centrifugal force. Since the wall surface of the heat generating chamber is formed as described above, the gap (clearance) between the shearing surface and the wall surface of the heat generating chamber varies depending on the arrangement of the rotor pieces. Thus, according to the rotation speed of the rotor,
The gap between the opposing shearing surface and the wall of the heating chamber is adjusted. In the viscous heater, the shearing efficiency of the viscous fluid by the rotor tends to change in accordance with the width of the gap, and as a result, the heat generation capacity changes. in this way,
The viscous heater of the present invention can autonomously variably adjust the heat generation capacity based on switching of the radial arrangement of the rotor pieces using centrifugal force.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that all of the plurality of rotor pieces are provided so as to be movable in a rotor radial direction. According to this configuration, the distance from the rotation axis of the rotor to each rotor piece can always be equal regardless of the rotational speed of the rotor, so that the center of gravity of the rotor is stabilized and the rotor rotates stably.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of rotor pieces has an arc shape, and when these rotor pieces are arranged closest to each other, an annular rotor main body is formed. Features.

According to this configuration, an opening is formed inside each rotor piece and around the axis of rotation of the rotor to interconnect the front side and the rear side of the rotor with each other. This opening allows the mutual movement of the viscous fluid interposed between the front and rear surfaces of the rotor and the front and rear inner wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber, respectively. As a result, a difference in the viscous fluid pressure before and after the rotor is prevented. To prevent.
Therefore, the axial arrangement of the rotor in the heating chamber is stabilized.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to the third aspect, the rotor includes a plurality of support guides for supporting each of the arc-shaped rotor pieces so as to be movable in a radial direction of the rotor. And a connecting support member.

According to this configuration, the rotor body that can be independently moved for each rotor piece can be constructed on the support guide portion with the connection support member as the center, and the rotor that meets the object of the present invention is most suitable. It can be configured in a simple form.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to the fourth aspect, a biasing force for biasing each rotor piece toward the rotation axis of the rotor is provided on each support guide portion of the connection support member. Means are provided.

According to this structure, when the centrifugal force acting on each rotor piece is small, the urging means urges the rotor piece toward the rotor rotation axis, and the radial displacement is unlimited due to the centrifugal force. Regulate. For this reason, by appropriately arranging the urging means in relation to the shape of the wall surface of the heat generating chamber, when the rotational speed of the rotor is low and the shear heat generating capacity is too small, the position where each rotor piece can exhibit the maximum heat generating capacity is obtained. It is possible to keep it.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the internal space of the heat generating chamber is at least an inner area near the center area of the heat generating chamber, and The distance between the wall surface of the heating chamber in the outer region and the shearing surface of the rotor piece disposed in the outer region is divided into the wall region of the heating chamber in the inner region and the inner region. The distance between the rotor piece and the shearing action surface of the rotor piece is set to be wider.

According to this configuration, the gap (clearance) between the shearing surface and the wall surface of the heating chamber is adjusted depending on which region in the heating chamber the movable rotor piece is disposed. That is, when the centrifugal force acting on the rotor piece during the low-speed rotation of the rotor is relatively small, the rotor piece remains in the inner region, and the gap between the shearing surface and the wall surface of the heating chamber in the inner region is compared. The situation is kept narrow. Thereby, the heat generation capability of the heater is increased, and necessary heat generation is secured while compensating for the low rotation speed of the rotor. On the other hand, when the centrifugal force acting on the rotor piece during the high-speed rotation of the rotor is relatively large, the rotor piece moves to the outer region, and the gap between the shearing surface and the wall surface of the heating chamber in the outer region is increased. A relatively wide situation is created.
As a result, the heat generation capability of the heater is reduced, and excessive heat generation is suppressed despite the high rotational speed of the rotor. Therefore, in this case, overheating of the viscous fluid due to high-speed rotation of the rotor is prevented.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber is non-parallel to an imaginary plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotor. It is characterized by being formed so as to be inclined such that

According to this construction, in the viscous heater according to claim 6, an infinite (infinite) intermediate region having a different distance between the inner wall surfaces is set between the inner region and the outer region, and the shearing action of the movable rotor piece is performed. The distance (gap) between one point on the surface and the wall surface of the heat generating chamber facing the point corresponds to a structure in which the rotor piece changes uniformly and continuously with the radial displacement of the rotor piece. Therefore, the gap between the shearing surface and the wall of the heat generating chamber is adjusted depending on the radial position of the movable rotor piece in the heat generating chamber, and the heat generation is stabilized without being affected by the rotation speed of the rotor. In that it has a function similar to that of the viscous heater of the sixth aspect.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a viscous heater incorporated in a vehicle heating device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front housing body 1
The rear housing body 2 is fastened by a plurality of bolts 4 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) with a gasket 3 interposed therebetween. Internal housing spaces are formed in the mutually connected housing bodies 1 and 2, and a front partition plate 5 and a rear partition plate 6 are housed in the housing spaces while their outer peripheral edges abut against each other. ing. These partition plates 5 and 6 are formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity (for example, an aluminum-based alloy). The front housing body 1 and the rear housing body 2, and the front partition plate 5 and the rear partition plate 6 constitute a main part of the housing in the viscous heater.

The rear end of the front partition plate 5 and a part of the front end of the rear partition plate 6 are respectively depressed with respect to the outer peripheral edge of each partition plate. A heat generating chamber 7 is formed between the two by the mutual joining.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear partition plate 6 has a rear end side provided with a cylindrical portion 6a formed at the center thereof and a partition wall extending vertically from the top of the cylindrical portion 6a in the radial direction. 6b and a plurality of fins 6c formed in an arc shape extending in the circumferential direction along the outside of the cylindrical portion 6a. The rear partition plate 6 is fitted into the rear housing main body 2 such that the tips of the cylindrical portion 6a, the partition wall 6b, and the fins 6c abut on the inner wall surface of the rear housing main body 2. As a result, there is a heating chamber 7 between the inner wall surface of the rear housing main body 2 and the main body of the rear partition plate 6.
An annular rear water jacket 9 is defined as a heat dissipation chamber adjacent to the rear side. In the rear water jacket 9, the arc-shaped fins 6c guide the flow of the circulating water as the circulating fluid, and set the circulation path of the circulating water in the rear heat radiation chamber.

Similarly, the front partition plate 5 has, at its front end side, a support cylindrical portion 5a formed at the center thereof,
It has a partition wall 5b extending vertically from the top of the support cylinder 5a in the radial direction, and a plurality of fins 5c formed in an arc shape extending in the circumferential direction along the outside of the support cylinder 5a. The front partition plate 5 includes a support cylinder 5a, a partition 5
b and the fins 5c are fitted into the front housing main body 1 such that the respective tips of the fins 5c contact the inner wall surface of the front housing main body 1. As a result, between the inner wall surface of the front housing main body 1 and the main body of the front partition plate 5, an annular front water jacket 8 as a heat radiation chamber adjacent to the front side of the heat generating chamber 7 is partitioned. This front water jacket 8
Inside, the arc-shaped fins 5c guide the flow of the circulating water as the circulating fluid, and set the circulation path of the circulating water in the front heat radiation chamber.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an inlet port 10 for taking in circulating water from a heating circuit (not shown) provided in the vehicle to a rear water jacket 9 is formed at an upper portion of the rear housing body 2. In addition, a hole 6 d communicating with the water inlet port 10 is formed in the rear partition plate 6. A water outlet port 11 for sending out circulating water from the front water jacket 8 to the heating circuit is formed in an upper portion of the front housing body 1, and a hole 5d communicating with the water outlet port 11 is formed in the front partition plate 5. Are formed. Further, the front and rear water jackets 8,
9 are formed to communicate with each other. Therefore, the circulating water introduced from the water inlet port 10 into the rear water jacket 9 is guided by the fins 6c and communicates with the communication passage 1
It is led to 2. Then, the water is introduced into the front water jacket 8 through the communication passage 12 and guided to the water discharge port 11 by the fins 5c.

A drive shaft 15 is rotatably supported by a bearing 13 and a bearing 14 with a seal on the front housing composed of the front housing body 1 and the front partition plate 5. The sealed bearing 14 is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the support cylinder 5 a of the front partition plate 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 15, and seals the front side of the heat generating chamber 7. An auxiliary oil chamber 16 is provided in a region surrounded by the cylindrical portion 6a of the rear partition plate 6 and the rear end wall of the rear housing body 2. The heat generating chamber 7 and the sub-oil chamber 16 are formed with holes 6 e formed in the rear partition plate 6.
And a liquid-tight internal space in the heater housing.

A rotor 20 is press-fitted and fixed to the rear end (inner end) of the drive shaft 15 in the heat generating chamber 7. The detailed structures of the rotor 20 and the heat generating chamber 7 will be described later. The heating chamber 7 and the sub oil chamber 16 are filled with a required amount of silicone oil as a viscous fluid. The amount of silicone oil whose filling factor at normal temperature is 5 to the free volume of the internal space formed by the heat generating chamber 7 and the sub oil chamber 16
It is determined to be ~ 80%. Despite such an oil filling rate, the rotation of the rotor 20 causes the silicone oil to spread evenly over the entire minute clearance between the opposing heat generating chamber wall surface and the rotor outer surface due to the high viscosity.

A pulley 18 is fixed to a front end (outer end) of the drive shaft 15 by a bolt 17. Pulley 1
Numeral 8 is drivingly connected to an engine of the vehicle as an external drive source via a belt (not shown) wound around the outer peripheral portion. Therefore, the drive shaft 15 is rotated by the driving force of the engine via the pulley 18, and the rotor 20 is rotated integrally therewith. As a result, the silicone oil
In the gap between the outer surface of the heat generating chamber 7 and the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7, heat is generated by shearing. The heat generated in the heat generating chamber 7 is exchanged with circulating water flowing in the front and rear water jackets 8 and 9,
The heated circulating water is supplied to the interior of the vehicle via a heating circuit.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B, the rotor 20 of this embodiment has a central hub portion 21, a pair of support pins 22, and a pair of rotor pieces 23.
And

A hole 21a is formed through the center of the hub 21. The rear end of the drive shaft 15 is press-fitted into the hole 21a so that the hub 21 can rotate integrally with the drive shaft 15. Fixed. A pair of support pins 22 extending in the radial direction of the rotor 20 are provided at the upper end and the lower end of the hub 21.
Is fixed. The two support pins 22 are arranged vertically up and down with the rotation axis L of the rotor 20 interposed therebetween. A spring seat 22 a is provided at an outer end of each support pin 22.

Each support pin 22 is provided with an arc-shaped rotor piece 23 movably along the support pin 22, that is,
It is attached so as to be able to approach and separate from the rotation axis L of the rotor 20. The arc-shaped rotor piece 23 is in the form of a semicircular ring to the right. When the two rotor pieces 23 are arranged closest to each other, that is, when the left and right end portions 23a and 23b of the two rotor pieces 23 are brought into contact with each other, a substantially circular ring-shaped rotor body is formed. It has become. In other words, each rotor piece 23 corresponds to a semi-circular ring piece obtained by dividing a perfect circular ring-shaped rotor body portion into two based on a virtual line extending horizontally in the radial direction through the rotor rotation axis L. I do.

As described above, the support pin 22 serves as a support guide for supporting the rotor piece 23 so as to be movable in the radial direction of the rotor, and the support pin 22 and the hub 21 are formed by two rotors. A connection support member for connecting the rotor body composed of the pieces to the drive shaft 15 is configured.

A smooth shearing surface 23c is formed before and after each rotor piece 23, respectively. These shearing action surfaces 23c are arranged in the heat generating chamber 7 so as to face the wall surface of the heat generating chamber, and form a predetermined clearance between the wall and the wall surface of the heat generating chamber.

Each support pin 22 has a coil-shaped urging spring 24 as urging means near the spring seat 22a.
Is provided. The biasing spring 24 is provided on the rotor piece 23.
Is separated from the spring seat 22a, which is the outer end of the support pin 22, by a predetermined distance, and acts to bias the rotor piece 23 toward the rotation axis L.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the heat generating chamber 7 is located at the front and rear walls 7a near the center area of the heat generating chamber 7 near the drive shaft 15, and at the peripheral area of the heat generating chamber 7. It is surrounded by the front and rear walls 7b. The front and rear walls 7b around the heat generating chamber are slightly receded in the front and rear direction with respect to the front and rear walls 7a near the heat generating chamber central area. The front wall of the heat generating chamber 7 is formed by a part of the front partition plate 5, and the rear wall of the heat generating chamber 7 is formed by a part of the rear partition plate 6.

Further, a smooth first inner wall surface 71 is formed on each of the front and rear walls 7a near the center of the heat generating chamber, and a smooth second inner wall surface 72 is formed on each of the front and rear walls 7b near the heat generating chamber. Are formed. The first inner wall surface 71 and the second inner wall surface 72
A virtual plane orthogonal to the rotor rotation axis L (FIG. 4)
, And extends vertically along the support pins 22 of the rotor 20 and can be regarded as a surface that can divide the paper surface into right and left. The distance between the front and rear first inner wall surfaces 71 is shorter than the distance between the front and rear second inner wall surfaces 72.

In this way, between the second inner wall surfaces 72 before and after the second inner wall surface 72 facing each other with the rotor 20 interposed therebetween, the escape chamber 30 as a non-heating area (outer area) is set.
A heat-generating region (inner region) where the rotor piece 23 can effectively generate shear heat is set between the first inner wall surfaces 71 before and after the first inner wall surface 71 facing each other. In other words, the internal space of the heat generating chamber 7 is a heat generating area (inner area) near the central area of the heat generating chamber.
And a non-heat-generating region (outer region) existing around the heat-generating chamber so as to surround it.

Next, the characteristic operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4A shows a state of the rotor 20 when the drive shaft 15 and the rotor 20 are stopped or at a low speed. In this case, the centrifugal force does not act on each rotor piece 23, or even if it acts very little, the urging spring 24
The action of urging the rotor piece 23 in the direction of the rotor rotation axis L exceeds the centrifugal force. For this reason, the whole rotor piece 23 is arranged in the heat generating area (inner area) near the heat generating chamber central area.
The clearance C1 between each of the shearing surfaces 23c and the first inner wall surface 71 is set to be small so that the shearing surface 23c of the rotor 20 can sufficiently shear the silicone oil. Therefore, each rotor piece 23 is
In the case of the arrangement as shown in FIG. 3A, a situation is created in which the heat generation capability of the heater is sufficiently increased, and the required heat generation is ensured while compensating for the low rotation speed of the rotor 20.

FIG. 4B shows the drive shaft 15 and the rotor 20.
3 shows the state of the rotor 20 at the time of high-speed rotation. In this case, a large centrifugal force acts on each rotor piece 23. This centrifugal force exceeds the action of the biasing spring 24 biasing the rotor piece 23 in the direction of the rotor rotation axis L. For this reason, the entire rotor piece 23 is switched and disposed (evacuated) in the evacuation chamber 30 around the heat generating chamber. The clearance C2 between each of the shearing surfaces 23c and the second inner wall surface 72 is set to be so large that it cannot be ignored as compared with the clearance C1. Therefore, when the rotor pieces 23 are arranged as shown in FIG. 4B, the silicone oil is not sufficiently sheared by the shearing surface 23c of the rotor 20. Therefore,
When the rotor pieces 23 are arranged as shown in FIG. 4B, the heat generation capability of the heater is reduced, and excessive heat generation is suppressed despite the high rotation speed of the rotor. A situation is created.

As described above, the rotation speed of the rotor 20 increases, and the rotor piece 23 is moved from the arrangement state of FIG.
By switching to the arrangement state of (B), the heat generation capability of the heater is suppressed and adjusted.

The effect of this embodiment will be described below. (A) As described above, each rotor piece 2 is set based on the centrifugal force acting on each rotor piece 23 in accordance with the rotation speed of the rotor 20.
3 can be switched and arranged in the radial direction of the rotor,
Accordingly, the shearing action surface 23c and the wall surfaces 71, 7 of the heating chamber are formed.
By selectively changing the clearance between the two,
The heat generation capability of the heater is self-regulated. Therefore, the viscous heater can generate stable heat without being affected by the fluctuation of the driving force of the vehicle engine. In particular, even when the driving force of the engine temporarily increases, as a result, even when the rotor 20 rotates at an unexpectedly high speed, it is possible to prevent the overheating of the silicone oil by suppressing the heat generation by shearing. In addition, the life or replacement time of the silicone oil can be extended.

(B) In the heat generating chamber 7, two rotor pieces 23 are used as movable members movable in the radial direction of the rotor.
Only exists. Therefore, the mechanical structure has been simplified as much as possible.
Durability and reliability are not impaired. Since both rotor pieces 23 are provided as movable members that can move in the radial direction of the rotor, and do not move in the axial direction of the rotor, the front and rear walls of the heating chamber 7 are movable to change the internal volume of the heating chamber. No complicated mechanism is required.

(C) Since the main body of the rotor 20 is constituted by the two semicircular ring-shaped rotor pieces 23, a large opening is formed between each rotor piece 23 and the hub 21. Since the opening communicates the front side and the rear side of the rotor 20 with each other, the silicone oil interposed between the front and rear surfaces of the rotor 20 and the front and rear inner wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber 7 easily through the opening. Can move with each other. This prevents a difference in viscous fluid pressure before and after the rotor 20 from occurring, and stabilizes the axial arrangement of the rotor 20 in the heating chamber 7. Further, the oil temperature in the heat generating chamber 7 is made uniform through the opening.
This prevents a situation in which a part of the silicone oil is overheated locally, and contributes to extending the life of the oil or the replacement time.

(D) An independent oil storage space is formed by the heat generating chamber 7 and the sub oil chamber 16, and the internal volume of the oil storage space remains unchanged. For this reason, the amount of the silicone oil does not change in the viscous heater, and a special mechanism for solving various difficulties associated with the change in the oil amount is not required.

(E) According to the viscous heater of this embodiment, the heat generating chamber 7 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the front water jacket 8 and the rear water jacket 9, and the heat generating chamber 23 is in contact with the respective shearing surfaces 23 c of the rotor 20. The inner wall surfaces 71 and 72 of the chamber 7 are arranged in parallel. Therefore, most of the heat generated in the heat generating chamber 7 is efficiently transmitted to the circulating water of the water jackets 8 and 9 via the front and rear partition plates 5 and 6. Therefore, the viscous heater of the present embodiment has excellent heat exchange efficiency.

(F) The circulating water is supplied to both water jackets 8,
9 can be circulated along a predetermined route guided by the fins 5c and 6c.
There is no short circuit or stagnation of the circulating water flow path inside. Therefore, the heating chamber 7 is sandwiched between the front and rear partition plates 5 and 6.
The heat exchange from the silicone oil to the circulating water of the water jackets 8 and 9 can be performed efficiently. Further, the heat transfer area increases due to the presence of the fins 5c and 6c, and the heat exchange efficiency improves.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be carried out, for example, in the following manner. (A) In the above embodiment, both of the two rotor pieces 23 are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from the rotation axis L, but one of the two rotor pieces 23 is fixed on the support pin 22 and the other one is Only one may be movable. In this case, the self-adjustment of the heat generation capability is performed by the movable rotor piece 23.

(B) In the above embodiment, each rotor piece 23 is formed by dividing the ring-shaped member into two pieces. However, the rotor piece 23 is formed into an arc-shaped rotor piece corresponding to N divisions (N is an integer of 3 or more).
Accordingly, N support pins 22 may be provided around the hub 21. The larger the value of N, the closer the integral shape of each rotor piece when placed farthest apart is to a perfect circle,
Stability during high-speed rotation can be ensured as compared with the case of other shapes.

(C) In the above embodiment, the front and rear inner walls of the heat generating chamber 7 are divided into the front and rear walls 7a near the center area and the front and rear walls 7b in the peripheral area.
However, as shown in FIG. 5A, the front and rear inner wall portions of the heat generating chamber 7 may have a three-stage configuration. In this case, an intermediate chamber 31 as an intermediate area is formed between the heat-generating area between the first inner wall surfaces 71 and the escape chamber 30 as a non-heat-generating area. When the rotor piece 23 is disposed in the intermediate chamber 31, the clearance C3 between the shearing surface 23c and the wall surface of the facing heat generating chamber is larger than the clearance C1 but smaller than the clearance C2. Therefore, when the rotor piece 23 is disposed in the intermediate chamber 31 due to the balance between the centrifugal force and the spring force, the heat generation capability of the heater is slightly smaller than when the rotor piece 23 is in the heat generation area. It can be.

(D) As shown in FIG.
May be formed as an inclined surface 73 that is not parallel to a virtual plane P orthogonal to the rotation axis L of the rotor 20, and a wedge-shaped rotor housing area may be formed between the inclined surfaces 73. In this case, the peripheral area of the heating chamber 7 becomes a non-heating area,
The area near the central area is the heat generation area. According to this configuration, the heat generation capacity can be adjusted steplessly or continuously according to the radial position of the rotor piece 23 in the heat generation chamber 7.

(E) In FIGS. 5A and 5B, each of the front and rear walls of the heat generating chamber 7 sandwiching the rotor 20 is inclined with respect to the inner wall surfaces 71 and 72 of a plurality of stages and the virtual plane P. The inclined surface 73 is provided as a wall surface of the heat generating chamber, but the inner wall surfaces 71 and 72 and the inclined surface 73 are provided on only one of the front wall and the rear wall of the heat generating chamber 7 and the other wall portion is provided. A single inner wall surface parallel to the shearing surface 23c of the rotor 20 may be formed.

(F) Although each of the rotor pieces 23 has an arc shape (specifically, a semicircular ring shape), it may be a front fan-shaped rotor piece. (G) In the viscous heater of FIG. 1, an electromagnetic clutch mechanism may be employed between the pulley 18 and the drive shaft 15 so that the driving force of the engine can be selectively transmitted to the drive shaft 15 as necessary.

It should be noted that the term "viscous fluid" as used herein means any medium that generates heat based on fluid friction due to the shearing action of the rotor, and is used as a highly viscous liquid or semi-fluid. It is not limited, and is not limited to silicone oil.

[0056]

As described in detail above, according to the viscous heater described in each claim, self-adjustment of the heat generation ability is performed so that stable heat generation can be maintained irrespective of the fluctuation of the driving force from the external driving source. And has an effect of being excellent in durability and reliability. In addition, a heat radiating chamber is provided in addition to the heat generating chamber, which provides an excellent effect that heat exchange efficiency from the viscous fluid in the heat generating chamber to the circulating fluid in the heat radiating chamber is increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a viscous heater of the present invention (I in FIG. 2).
-I line sectional view).

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heater of FIG. 1 (a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1).

3A and 3B show a rotor according to an embodiment, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3B is a side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of a rotor, and FIG.
Shows a state at the time of low-speed rotation, and (B) shows a state at the time of high-speed rotation.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are partial cross-sectional views showing another example of the internal shape of the heat generating chamber in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Front housing main body, 2 ... Rear housing main body, 5
... front compartment plate, 6 ... rear compartment plate (1, 2,
5, 6 constitute a heater housing), 7: a heat generating chamber, 8, 9: front and rear water jackets as a heat radiating chamber, 15: drive shaft, 20: rotor, 21: hub part,
Reference numeral 22 denotes a support pin serving as a support guide (21 and 22 constitute a connection support member of the rotor), 23 represents a rotor piece (constituting a rotor main body), 23c represents a shearing action surface, and 24 represents a shearing surface.
Urging springs as urging means, 30: shunting chamber (corresponding to the outer area of the peripheral area of the heat generating chamber), 71, 72 ... wall surfaces of the first and second heat generating chambers, 73: inclined surfaces as wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber, C
1, C2, C3: clearance, L: rotation axis, P: virtual plane.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tsutomu Sato 2-1-1, Toyota-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Industries Corporation

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber are defined in a housing, and heat is generated by shearing a viscous fluid stored in the heat generating chamber by a rotor also stored in the heat generating chamber.
In a viscous heater for exchanging heat with a circulating fluid flowing through the heat radiation chamber, the rotor includes a plurality of rotor pieces divided based on a virtual line extending in a radial direction from a rotation axis of the rotor, and each rotor piece is Each of the plurality of rotor pieces has a shearing action surface facing the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber, and at least one of the plurality of rotor pieces is provided so as to be movable in a rotor radial direction.
A variable-capacity viscous heater, wherein an inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber is formed such that a gap with a shearing surface of the movable rotor piece is different depending on an arrangement of the rotor piece in a radial direction of the rotor. 2. The variable capacity viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of rotor pieces are provided so as to be movable in a rotor radial direction. 3. The rotor body according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of rotor pieces has an arc shape, and when these rotor pieces are arranged closest to each other, an annular rotor body is formed. Variable capacity viscous heater. 4. The connecting member according to claim 3, wherein the rotor includes a plurality of supporting guides for supporting each of the arc-shaped rotor pieces so as to be movable in a radial direction of the rotor. Variable capacity viscous heater. 5. A support guide portion of the connection support member,
5. The variable capacity viscous heater according to claim 4, further comprising an urging means for urging each rotor piece toward the rotation axis of the rotor. 6. An internal space of the heat generating chamber is divided into at least an inner area near a central area of the heat generating chamber and an outer area around a peripheral area of the heat generating chamber. The distance between the shearing surface of the rotor piece disposed in the outer region is set to be wider than the distance between the wall surface of the heat generating chamber in the inner region and the shearing surface of the rotor member disposed in the inner region. Claim 1
6. The variable capacity viscous heater according to any one of 5. 7. The heat generating chamber according to claim 1, wherein an inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber is inclined so as to be non-parallel to an imaginary plane orthogonal to a rotation axis of the rotor. A variable-capacity viscous heater according to the item.