JPH10109528A - 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 driving force from an outer drive source. SOLUTION: A rotor 20 and viscous fluid are stored in a heat generation room 6 partitioned in housings 1, 2, 3. The rotor 20 is provided with a rotary support body 10 fixed on a drive shat 9 and a shear turning disc 11 installed slidably and slant-movably in the axis direction of the drive shaft 9. The ball shape tip part of a guide pin 13 projected in front of the shear turning disc 11 is stored slide-guidably in a cylindrical guide hole 14a formed on the support arm 14 of a rotary support body 10. The shear turning disc 11 is connected slant-movably for the drive shaft 9 through the rotary support body 10 by this slide-guide relation. The clearance between the shear operation surface 11b and a heat generation room inner wall surface 3c facing hereto is adjusted variably in response to the slant angle of the shear turning disc 11 correlated with the centrifugal force acting to the rotor 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a housing for partitioning a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber therein, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing, and a rotatable unit with the drive shaft in the heat generating chamber. Provided with a rotor, a viscous heater that generates heat by shearing the viscous fluid stored in the heat generating chamber by the rotor, and that exchanges this heat with a circulating fluid flowing through the heat radiating chamber, The present invention relates to a variable capacity viscous heater.

[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, there is provided a housing for partitioning a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber therein, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing, and the drive shaft in the heat generating chamber. A viscous fluid that generates heat by shearing the viscous fluid contained in the heat generating chamber with the rotor, and exchanges this heat with a circulating fluid flowing through the heat radiating chamber. In the heater, the rotor includes a shearing rotary disk having a shearing surface facing an inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber, and a shearing rotary disk that is tiltably connected to the drive shaft, and a centrifugal force acting on the rotor. And a tilt adjusting mechanism that variably adjusts the tilt angle of the shearing rotary disc based on the above.

According to the viscous heater, a centrifugal force acts on the rotor in accordance with the rotation speed of the drive shaft and the rotor. The inclination adjusting mechanism variably adjusts the inclination of the shearing turntable based on the centrifugal force. This involves variably adjusting the gap (clearance) between the opposing shearing surface and the wall of the heating chamber. In the viscous heater, the shear efficiency of the viscous fluid by the rotor tends to change according to the width of the gap. Therefore, adjusting the tilt angle of the shearing rotary disk in accordance with the rotation speed of the rotor is nothing less than adjusting the heat generation capacity (heat generation amount) of the heater. As described above, the viscous heater of the present invention can autonomously and variably adjust the heat generation capacity based on the tilt angle adjustment of the shearing rotary disc using the centrifugal force acting on the rotor.

[0011] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the inclination adjusting mechanism includes an urging means for urging the shearing turntable in a direction in which the inclination angle decreases. According to this configuration, the urging means acts to reduce the tilt angle of the shearing rotary disk, and the gap between the shearing action surface of the shearing rotary disk and the wall surface of the heat generating chamber tends to be narrowed. Therefore, by providing the biasing means, the inclination adjusting mechanism is characterized in that the heat generation capability (heat generation amount) of the viscous heater is basically maintained as large as possible.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the biasing means is a coil-shaped spring provided around the drive shaft. According to this configuration, the urging means can be configured most simply and easily.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to the second or third aspect, the tilt adjusting mechanism includes a restricting means for restricting a decrease in the tilt angle of the shearing rotary plate by the urging means to determine a minimum tilt angle. It is characterized by having.

According to this configuration, the minimum tilt angle of the shearing rotary disk is determined by the regulating means, and as a result, the minimum gap between the shearing action surface of the shearing rotary disk and the wall surface of the heating chamber is uniquely determined. Therefore, this restricting means plays a role of determining the maximum value of the heat generation capacity (heat generation amount) of the viscous heater.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the stopper is provided on the drive shaft in the vicinity of the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber and regulates the movement of the shearing rotary disc in the axial direction of the drive shaft. It is characterized by being. According to this configuration, the regulating means can be configured most simply and easily.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the viscous heater according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the inclination adjusting mechanism includes a guide pin projecting from the shearing rotary plate and a part of the guide pin. A rotation support fixed on the drive shaft having a support arm formed with a guide hole for accommodating and guiding the guide pin, and a sliding guide relationship between the guide pin and the guide hole, A shearing rotary disc is tiltably connected to the drive shaft via the rotary support.

According to this configuration, the main part of the tilt adjusting mechanism can be most simply configured. And, while allowing the shearing rotary disc to tilt with respect to the drive shaft, by the sliding guide relationship between the guide pin and the guide hole, the drive shaft,
The rotating support and the shearing turntable can rotate integrally.

[0018]

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, a housing body 1 having a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall and a flat rear plate 2 are provided with a plurality of bolts while accommodating a partition member 3 at an inner rear end of the housing body 1. 4 to each other.

The partition member 3 is formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity (for example, an aluminum-based alloy), and has a support cylindrical portion 3a formed at the center thereof at the rear end side thereof,
And a plurality of fins 3b formed in an arc shape extending in the circumferential direction along the outside of the support cylindrical portion 3a. The tips of the support cylinder 3a and the fin 3b are connected to the rear plate 2
Is in contact with the inner wall surface. An annular water jacket 5 as a heat radiating chamber is defined between the inner wall surface of the rear plate 2 and the main body of the partition member 3.

In the water jacket 5, the arc-shaped fins 3b guide the flow of the circulating water as the circulating fluid, and set the flow path of the circulating water in the radiating chamber.
At one end and the other end of the flow path, a water inlet port and a water outlet port (not shown) are provided in the housing main body 1 or the rear plate 2, respectively. The water inlet port is for taking in circulating water from a heating circuit (not shown) provided in the vehicle into the water jacket 5, and the water outlet port is for sending out circulating water from the water jacket 5 to the heating circuit. belongs to. Therefore,
The circulating water introduced into the water jacket 5 from the water inlet port is guided by the fins 3b and guided to the water outlet port.

An internal space surrounded by the housing main body 1 and the stationary opposing surface 3 c which is the front end surface of the partition member 3 is provided as a heat generating chamber 6. Therefore, the stationary opposing surface 3
c constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber 6. The housing of the viscous heater is constituted by the housing body 1, the rear plate 2, and the partition member 3.

The housing body 1 and the partition member 3 are provided with a front-side sealed bearing 7 and a rear-side sealed bearing 8, respectively.
The drive shaft 9 is rotatably supported by this. The bearing 7 with the front seal is interposed between a part of the inner peripheral surface of the housing body 1 and the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 9 to seal the front side of the heat generating chamber 6. The bearing 8 with the rear seal is
The rear side of the heat generating chamber 6 is sealed between the support cylindrical portion 3 a of the partition member 3 and the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the drive shaft 9. Thus, the heat generating chamber 6 is a liquid-tight internal space in the heater housing.

A lug plate 10 serving as a rotary support is fixed to a substantially central portion of the drive shaft 9 in the heat generating chamber 6, and can be rotated integrally with the drive shaft 9. A substantially disk-shaped shearing rotary disk 11 is supported on the drive shaft 9 so as to be slidable and tiltable in the axial direction of the drive shaft 9 via a hole 11a formed through the center thereof. I have.
The inner peripheral portion of the hole 11a is machined into a shape as shown in FIG. 3 to allow the shearing rotary disc 11 to tilt with respect to the drive shaft 9. The minimum inner diameter of the hole 11a is
Is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the hole 11a.
There is some play between the drive shaft 9 and the shearing turntable 11 inside.

As shown in FIG. 1, a flat shearing surface 11b facing the stationary facing surface 3c is formed on the rear surface side of the shearing rotary plate 11. A support portion 12 is projected from the front surface of the shearing rotary disk 11, and a guide pin 13 having a pseudospherical tip is fixed diagonally to the support portion 12.
On the other hand, a support arm 14 is protruded from the periphery of the lug plate 10, and a cylindrical guide hole 14 a is formed in the support arm 14. The inner diameter of the guide hole 14a substantially corresponds to the maximum diameter of the spherical tip of the guide pin 13. The guide pin 13 is inserted into the guide hole 14a so as to be slidable along the guide hole 14a and change the angle in the guide hole 14a.

As described above, the shearing turntable 11 and the lug plate 10 are operatively connected via the guide pin 13 and the support arm 14. That is, the shearing turntable 11 is driven by the drive shaft 9 by the cooperation of the guide pin 13 and the support arm 14.
And the lug plate 10 can be integrally rotated, and the driving shaft 9 is allowed to slide in the axial direction and tilt with respect to the driving shaft 9.

The tilting body is integrally formed by the shearing rotary disk 11, the support portion 12, and the guide pin 13. Shear turntable 1
Since the support portion 12 and the guide pin 13 are provided at a position eccentric from the center of 1, the center of gravity G of the tilting body (11, 12, 13) is eccentric with respect to the drive shaft 9 toward the guide pin 13 side. Position (see FIG. 1). For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the centrifugal force acting on the tilting body (11, 12, 13) at the time of rotation of the drive shaft 9 or the like causes the drive shaft 9 to rotate at the contact point P opposite to the guide pin 13. The outer peripheral surface is the hole 1 of the shearing rotary disc 11
It contacts the inner periphery of 1a. Thus, the tilting body (11, 12, 13)
Are supported on the drive shaft 9 and the lug plate 10 with the contact point P and the sliding contact (or sliding contact line) between the guide hole 14a and the guide pin 13 as a fulcrum.

The tilting of the shearing rotary disc 11 is regulated by the sliding guide relationship between the guide hole 14a and the guide pin 13 and the sliding support of the shearing rotary disc 11 on the drive shaft 9.
The inclination angle (inclination angle) of the shearing rotary disk 11 is defined as an angle θ with respect to a plane perpendicular to the drive shaft 9 or a perpendicular line (see FIG. 2). Incidentally, in FIG. 1, the stationary facing surface 3c is provided as a surface orthogonal to the drive shaft 9, and the stationary facing surface 3c and the shearing surface 11b are in a state parallel to each other. For this reason, FIG. 1 shows a state where the inclination angle of the shearing rotary disc 11 is minimum (θ = 0 °).

As shown in FIG. 1, a set spring 15 is provided between the lug plate 10 and the shearing rotary plate 11 as urging means. This set spring 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes a coil spring, which is provided around the drive shaft 9. The set spring 15 urges the shearing turntable 11 in the direction of the bearing 8 with the rear seal, that is, in the direction of decreasing the tilt angle, with the lug plate 10 as a fulcrum.

A stopper 16 as a restricting means is mounted on the drive shaft 9 near the rear seal bearing 8 or the stationary facing surface 3c. A specific example of the stopper 16 is a circlip. Circlip 1
6 regulates the movement of the shearing rotary disk 11 on the drive shaft 9 toward the rear end.

A lug plate 10 serving as a rotary support having a support arm 14 and a support portion 12 of a shearing rotary disk 11 are provided.
The guide pin 13, a set spring 15 as urging means, and a stopper (circlip) 16 as a regulating means constitute an inclination adjusting mechanism for connecting the shearing rotary plate 11 to the drive shaft 9 in a tiltable manner. You. In addition, the rotor 20 is configured by the inclination adjusting mechanism and the shearing rotary disk 11.

A required amount of silicone oil as a viscous fluid is put in the heat generating chamber 6 containing the rotor 20. The amount of the silicone oil is determined so that the filling rate at normal temperature is 80% to 98% with respect to the free volume of the internal space of the heat generating chamber 6. For this reason, the clearance between the shearing action surface 11b of the opposing shearing rotating disk 11 and the stationary opposing surface 3c (the wall surface of the heating chamber) is covered with silicone oil evenly.

At the front end (outer end) of the drive shaft 9, a bolt hole 9a is formed. A pulley (not shown) is fixed to the bolt hole 9a using a bolt (not shown).
The pulley is drivingly connected to an engine of a vehicle as an external drive source via a belt wound around an outer peripheral portion of the pulley. Therefore, the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20 are integrally rotated by the driving force of the engine via the pulley. Along with this,
Silicone oil is applied to the shearing action surface 11b of the shearing turntable 11
In the gap between the stationary opposing surface 3c (the wall surface of the heat generating chamber) and shear, heat is generated. The heat generated in the heat generating chamber 6 is exchanged with the circulating water flowing through the water jacket 5, and the heated circulating water is supplied to the interior of the vehicle through a heating circuit.

Next, the characteristic operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows one state of the rotor 20 when the drive shaft 9 and the like rotate. When rotating, tilting body (11,12,1
Based on the difference in centrifugal force acting on each of the constituent parts 11, 12, and 13 in 3), a moment M that causes the entire tilting body (11, 12, 13) to rotate clockwise around the contact point P is used. Works. In other words, this moment M is caused by the dynamic imbalance of the centrifugal force (dynamic imbalance),
1 is to be increased. here,
When the rotational angular velocity of the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20 is ω, and the product of inertia of the tilting body (11, 12, 13) at the tilt angle θ is I (θ),
The moment M is expressed as M = I (θ) · ω ² .

The actual tilt angle θ of the shearing rotary disk 11 is determined based on the balance between the moment M and the urging force of the set spring 15. As described above, since the magnitude of the moment M is proportional to the square of the rotational angular velocity ω of the rotor 20 and the like, the moment M can be regarded as a function of the centrifugal force acting on the tilting body (11, 12, 13). Therefore, the tilt angle θ of the shearing rotary disk 11 is variably adjusted based on the centrifugal force correlated with the rotational angular velocity ω. This will be described more specifically.

When the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20 are stopped or rotating at a low speed, the centrifugal force does not act on the tilting body (11, 12, 13), or the centrifugal force is very small. In this case, the action of the set spring 15 for urging the shearing rotary disk 11 toward the rear end of the drive shaft 9 is superior to the clockwise moment M. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the shearing turntable 11 is arranged at a position in contact with the circlip 16 and the shearing turntable 11
Becomes the minimum (θ = 0 °). At this time, the shearing action surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c become parallel,
The clearance C1 between b and 3c is also minimized. The minimum clearance C1 is defined by the shearing surface 11b and the stationary facing surface 3b.
It is set to be very narrow so that the silicone oil interposed therebetween can receive a sufficient shearing action. Therefore, when the shearing rotary disk 11 is positioned as shown in FIG. 1, the heat generation capability (heat generation amount) of the viscous heater is maximized, and necessary heat generation is compensated while compensating for the low rotation speed of the rotor 20. Secured.

On the other hand, when the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20 are rotated at a high speed to increase the rotational angular velocity ω, the clockwise moment M exceeds the urging action of the set spring 15. Then, as shown in FIG.
Are separated from the stationary facing surface 3c while increasing the inclination angle with respect to the stationary facing surface 3c. And set spring 15
The shearing turntable 11 is positioned in a tilted state at a position (tilt angle θ) where the urging force of the above and the moment M according to the rotational angular velocity ω are balanced. At this time, the clearance between the shearing action surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c is larger than the minimum value C1. Further, since the shearing action surface 11b is non-parallel to the stationary opposing surface 3c, the effective working radius R of the shearing turntable 11 is
₀ becomes smaller.

The effective working radius R ₀ corresponds to the radius of the projected surface when the inclined shearing surface 11b is projected along the axis of the drive shaft 9 onto the stationary opposing surface 3c. This is a substantial shear area of the working surface 11b. If the radius of the shearing surface 11b and R _max, effective operation radius R ₀
Is represented by R ₀ = R _max · cos θ.

The heat value L of this viscous heater is:
L = (πR ₀ ⁴ ω ² / h) · μ here,
R ₀ is the effective working radius, ω is the rotational angular velocity, h is the average value of the clearance between the shearing action surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c, and μ is the viscosity coefficient of the viscous fluid.

Accordingly, when the shearing rotary disk 11 is positioned as shown in FIG. 2, the clearance between the shearing surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c is increased, and the effective operation of the shearing surface 11b is performed. Since the radius R ₀ is smaller than R _max, the heat generation capability of the viscous heater is reduced, and a situation is created in which excessive heat generation is suppressed despite the high rotation speed of the rotor. In other words, the rotational angular velocities of the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20 increase, and the shearing turntable 11 is switched from the arrangement of FIG. 1 to the arrangement of FIG.

The effects of this embodiment will be described below. (B) As described above, the clearance between the shearing surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c and the effective operating radius _R0 of the shearing surface 11b are changed according to the rotation speeds of the drive shaft 9 and the rotor 20. By doing so, the heat generation capability of the heater can be self-adjusted. Thus, the heater can generate stable heat without being affected by fluctuations in 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 6, only a shearing rotary disk 11 exists as a movable member movable in the axial direction of the drive shaft 9. Therefore, the mechanical structure is simplified as much as possible, and the easiness of manufacture, durability and reliability are not impaired.

(C) The heat generating chamber 6 constitutes an independent oil storage space, 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.

(D) According to the viscous heater of the present embodiment, at the time of the maximum heat generation capacity (FIG. 1), the shearing action surface 11b and the stationary facing surface 3c which is the front end surface of the partition member 3 are arranged in parallel. . Therefore, most of the heat generated between the shearing surface 11 b and the stationary opposing surface 3 c is efficiently transmitted to the circulating water flowing through the water jacket 5 via the partition member 3. Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency is excellent.

(E) Since the circulating water can be guided in the water jacket 5 by the fins 3b and circulate along a predetermined route, a short circuit or stagnation of the flow path of the circulating water in the water jacket 5 may occur. Absent. Therefore, the heating chamber 6
The heat exchange from the silicone oil to the circulating water in the water jacket 5 can be efficiently performed. In addition, the heat transfer area increases due to the presence of the fins 3b, and the heat exchange efficiency improves.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in the following manner, for example. (A) In the above embodiment, only one guide pin 13 is used. Instead, a pair of left and right guide pins is provided on the shearing rotary plate 11 with the drive shaft 9 interposed therebetween, and the pair of guide pins 13 Then, a pair of support arms protrude from the lug plate 10, and the shearing rotary plate 11 is tiltably connected to the lug plate 10 via two guide pins and two support arms.

According to this configuration, three-point support of the tilting body (11, 12, 13) is realized by the contact point P with the drive shaft 9 and the sliding contact with each guide pin in the two support arms.
, The tilting bodies (11, 12, 13) are more stably supported.

(B) As shown in FIG. 4, a second partition member 31 having substantially the same shape as that of the partition member 3 is disposed near the front inside the housing main body 1.
Rear end face 31a and the front end face 10a of the lug plate 10
Between the minimum clearance C1 and the clearance C2 between
Set to the same level as

According to this structure, the second partition member 31 is provided between the wall of the housing body 1 and the second partitioning member 31.
A water jacket 32 is defined. Further, the lug plate 10 serves as a rotary support and also serves as a non-tiltable second shearing wheel. The front end surface 10a of the lug plate 10 functions as a shearing surface, and the rear end surface 31a of the second partition member 31 functions as a stationary opposing surface. When the lug plate 10 rotates, silicone oil interposed between the two surfaces 10a, 31a is used. Generates heat under shearing action. This heat is exchanged with the circulating water flowing through the second water jacket 32. Therefore, with the configuration of FIG.
The heating value can be increased as compared with the viscous heater of FIG.

(C) As shown in FIG.
On the opposite side, a part of the drive shaft 9 has an arc-shaped notch 3
3 and the guide hole 14a of the support arm 14
The inner peripheral surface of (1) is also curved in an arc shape. In this case, the arc of each part can be drawn around one point Q of the upper end of the shearing rotary disk 11 corresponding to the tip of the support arm 14.

According to this configuration, the shear turntable 11 can be tilted about the Q. According to this tilting operation, the distance between the shearing surface 11b and the stationary opposing surface 3c at the point Q is kept constant regardless of the tilt angle θ. In this respect, in the viscous heater of FIGS. 1 and 2, the change in the inclination angle of the shearing rotary disk 11 is different from the change in the minimum separation length between the shearing surface 11 b and the stationary opposing surface 3 c.

(D) In the viscous heater shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, an electromagnetic clutch mechanism is employed between a pulley (not shown) to be attached to the front end of the drive shaft 9 and the drive shaft 9. In this case, the driving force of the vehicle engine can be selectively transmitted to the drive shaft 9 as needed.

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.

[0054]

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 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one operation state of the viscous heater of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a relationship between a drive shaft and a shearing rotary disk.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing main body, 2 ... Rear plate, 3 ... Partition member (1,2,3 comprises the housing of a heater), 3c ... Static opposing surface as a wall surface of a heating room, 5 ... Water jacket as a heat radiation room, 6 ... heat generating chamber, 9 ... drive shaft, 10 ... lug plate as a rotary support, 10a ... lug plate front end face as a shearing action surface, 11 ... shearing rotary disk, 11b
... Shearing surface, 12 ... Supporting part, 13 ... Guide pin, 14
... Support arm, 14a ... Guide hole, 15 ... Coil spring (set spring) as urging means, 16 ...
Circlip (10,12,1)
3, 14, 15, and 16 constitute an inclination adjusting mechanism), 20 ... a rotor, 31 ... a second partition member (which constitutes a part of a heater housing), 31a ... a stationary opposing surface as a wall surface of a heating chamber,
32: the second water jacket as a heat radiating chamber, θ: the tilt angle of the shearing rotary disc.

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

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A housing for partitioning a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber therein, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing, and a rotor provided in the heat generating chamber so as to be integrally rotatable with the drive shaft. And heat is generated by shearing the viscous fluid stored in the heating chamber by the rotor,
In a viscous heater that exchanges this heat with a circulating fluid flowing through the heat radiating chamber, the rotor includes a shearing rotary disk having a shearing action surface facing an inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber, and the shear rotary disk as the drive shaft. A variable-capacity viscous heater comprising: a tilt adjusting mechanism that is tiltably connected to the rotor and that variably adjusts the tilt angle of the shearing wheel based on centrifugal force acting on the rotor. 2. The variable-capacity viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein said inclination adjusting mechanism includes an urging means for urging said shearing rotary disc in a direction of decreasing its inclination. 3. The variable capacity viscous heater according to claim 2, wherein said urging means is a coil-shaped spring provided around said drive shaft. 4. The variable-capacity type viscous device according to claim 2, wherein said tilt angle adjusting mechanism includes a restricting means for restricting a decrease in the tilt angle of said shearing turntable by said urging means to determine a minimum tilt angle. heater. 5. A stopper provided on the drive shaft in the vicinity of an inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber, the stopper being configured to regulate movement of the shearing rotary disc in an axial direction of the drive shaft. The variable-capacity viscous heater described in 1 above. 6. The drive shaft, comprising: a guide pin protruding from the shearing rotary plate; and a support arm having a guide hole for accommodating and guiding a part of the guide pin. A rotating support fixed to the upper end, and the shearing rotary disc is tiltably connected to the drive shaft via the rotary support by a sliding guide relationship between the guide pin and the guide hole. The variable capacity viscous heater according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein