JPH1035259A - Viscous heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the mounting of a viscous heater of a larger heating capacity to a vehicle or the like. SOLUTION: A heater housing comprises a center housing 1, a cylinder 2, a front housing 5 and a rear housing 6. The heating housing is internally sectioned to have a heating chamber 7 and a radiation chamber or water jacket 8 surrounding the heating chamber 7. The heating chamber 7 has therein a driving shaft 12 and a rotor 15 which are rotatable together, and contains silicone oil as viscous fluid. The rotor 15 is formed on its outer periphery with a plurality of skew guide grooves 20. As the rotor 15 rotates, the skew guide grooves 20 forcibly transfers the oil in the heating chamber 7 toward the front or rear end of the rotor 15 to thereby control the flow of the oil within the heating chamber 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber defined in a housing, and heat generated by shearing a viscous fluid contained in the heat generating chamber with a rotor is exchanged with a circulating fluid in the heat radiating chamber. To a viscous heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Viscous heaters that utilize the driving force of a vehicle engine have attracted attention as auxiliary heat sources for vehicles. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-246823 discloses a viscous heater incorporated in a vehicle heating device.

In this viscous heater, a front housing and a rear housing are connected to each other in a state of being opposed to each other, and a heat generating chamber is formed inside the heater and a water jacket (heat radiating chamber) is formed outside the heat generating chamber. I have. A drive shaft is rotatably supported on the front housing via a bearing device, and a rotor is fixed to one end of the drive shaft so as to be integrally rotatable in a heating chamber. The front and rear outer wall portions of the rotor and the inner wall portion of the heat generating chamber opposed thereto are formed with concavo-convex stripes so as to form a coincident labyrinth groove, and a labyrinth-like clearance is secured between the inner and outer wall portions by the close arrangement of the both. doing. Then, a required amount of a viscous fluid (for example, silicone oil) is sealed in the heat generating chamber, and is spread to the labyrinth-like clearance.

When the driving force of the engine is transmitted to the drive shaft, the rotor rotates together with the drive shaft in the heating chamber, and the viscous fluid interposed between the wall of the heating chamber and the outer wall of the rotor is sheared by the rotor. To generate heat based on fluid friction. The heat generated in the heat generating chamber is exchanged with circulating water flowing in the water jacket, and the heated circulating water is supplied to an external heating circuit to be used for heating the vehicle.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional viscous heater, since it is necessary to form irregularities for forming a labyrinth groove on the front and rear outer wall portions of the rotor, the rotor body has a larger axis than a radius from its axis. It has a shape similar to a short disk. In such a rotor, the main shearing action surface is the surface of the uneven ridges on the front and rear outer wall portions of the rotor, and the circling speed (that is, the shearing speed) increases as the uneven ridges are located farther from the axis of the rotor body. Therefore, in order to increase the calorific value of the heater, it is necessary to increase the rotor diameter, that is, to increase the outer diameter of the heater body. However, with such a viscous heater having a large dimension in the radial direction, it is generally difficult to secure a mounting space in a vehicle, particularly in an engine room, and there is a problem in layout design in relation to other vehicle accessories. May be.

An object of the present invention is to provide a viscous heater having a shape which facilitates mounting on a vehicle or other products without reducing the heat generation amount of the heater. It is an object of the present invention to provide a viscous heater capable of solving a problem that may occur with a change in shape (or dimension) and exhibiting excellent heat generation performance.

[0007]

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 heat generated by shearing a viscous fluid contained in the heat generating chamber with a rotor is radiated by the heat radiating chamber. In a viscous heater for exchanging heat with a circulating fluid in a room, the heat radiating chamber is provided so as to surround an outer peripheral surface of the rotor, and the rotor and the partition member are provided in at least one of partition members that partition the rotor and the heat generating chamber. The point is that a transfer means for moving a viscous fluid interposed between the heat generating chamber and the viscous fluid in a specific direction in the heat generating chamber is provided.

According to this viscous heater, the outer peripheral surface of the rotor having the highest peripheral speed is the main shearing surface, and a heat radiating chamber is formed so as to surround the outer peripheral surface, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency. Have been. Further, the transfer means moves the viscous fluid interposed between the rotor and the partition member in a specific direction in the heating chamber. Therefore, depending on how the moving direction of the viscous fluid is set by the transfer means, the flow of the viscous fluid in the heat generating chamber can be controlled such that the viscous fluid gathers at a position where the heat generation performance can be maintained or enhanced.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the transfer means is a guide groove formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rotor. The guide groove causes forced flow of the viscous fluid along the guide groove as the rotor rotates. Therefore, depending on how the guide groove is set, it becomes possible to bias the viscous fluid toward one end of the rotor along the outer peripheral portion of the rotor or to draw the viscous fluid from both ends of the rotor to the vicinity of the center. Further, the guide groove exerts a gas securing effect and a viscous fluid restraining effect which will be described in detail in an embodiment described later.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the guide groove as the transfer means is an oblique groove extending from one end to the other end on the outer peripheral portion of the rotor. By the action of the oblique guide groove, the viscous fluid is forcibly biased to one end side of the rotor along the outer peripheral portion of the rotor. As a result, the denseness of the viscous fluid in the outer peripheral region of the rotor is maintained, and the efficiency of shearing the viscous fluid by the rotor is increased. In addition, as a result of collecting the viscous fluid at one end of the rotor, an empty space is secured at the opposite end of the rotor. This empty space functions as a buffer space that allows expansion of the viscous fluid during heat generation and avoids an excessive increase in the pressure in the heat generation chamber.

The invention according to a fourth aspect is characterized in that the guide groove as the transfer means is formed in a fishbone shape on the outer peripheral portion of the rotor. The fish-bone shaped guide groove draws the viscous fluid at both end regions of the rotor near the center as the rotor rotates. For this reason, most of the viscous fluid exists in the outer peripheral region of the rotor, which is the main shearing operation region of the rotor, and the heat generation efficiency is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to the first to fourth aspects, the transfer means is a guide groove formed in an end face of the rotor. The guide grooves on the end face serve to remove the viscous fluid from the end face area of the rotor and consequently to actively feed the viscous fluid to the outer peripheral area of the rotor. In particular, in a rotor configuration in which the drive shaft protrudes from the center of the end face of the rotor, the viscous fluid tends to gather around the center drive shaft due to the Weissenberg effect due to the rotation of the rotor. As a result, the amount of the viscous fluid to be interposed between the outer peripheral surface and the partition member is reduced. On the other hand, the guide groove on the rotor end face cancels the undesired fluid movement due to the Weissenberg effect and positively sends the viscous fluid to the outer peripheral region of the rotor, so that the heat generation performance is maintained.

The invention according to a sixth aspect is characterized in that the transfer means is a communication path provided to communicate the end face area and the outer peripheral area of the rotor. The communication path guides the viscous fluid collected in the rotor end face area to the outer peripheral area of the rotor by the Weissenberg effect or the like as described above. Therefore, a situation in which the viscous fluid runs short in the outer peripheral region of the rotor is avoided, and the heat generation performance is maintained. Further, the viscous fluid interposed between the rotor and the partition member can circulate in the heat generating chamber via the communication path. As a result, the stagnation of the viscous fluid is avoided, and all of the viscous fluid contained in the heating chamber is evenly subjected to the shearing action by the rotor. For this reason, only a part of the viscous fluid does not deteriorate in advance, and the desired heat generation performance can be maintained for a long time.

It is preferable that the communication path as the transfer means is provided inside the rotor. In the invention according to claim 8, the rotor is attached to a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing, and the rotor has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having an axial length longer than a radius from the axis of the drive shaft. It is characterized by having.

According to this configuration, the radius of the rotor with respect to the length of the rotor shaft is reduced, that is, the diameter of the heater body is reduced. It is to be noted that the surface of the rotor at the time of rotation exhibits the maximum peripheral speed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor. Show. However, the relative long axis of the rotor causes an increase in the rotor outer peripheral area. For this reason, the rotor outer peripheral surface serves as a main shearing action surface to secure a large amount of heat generation by compensating for a disadvantage of a decrease in the peripheral speed due to a reduction in the rotor radius.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the viscous heater according to the eighth aspect, the radiating chamber is provided with a circulating fluid circulation path spirally set therein. By setting the circulation path in a spiral shape, the flow of the circulation fluid can be adjusted, and short-circuiting or stagnation of the circulation fluid can be prevented, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments 1 to 3 in which the present invention is embodied in a viscous heater incorporated in a vehicle heating device will be described below.
4 will be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) As shown in FIG. 1, the viscous heater of this embodiment includes a middle housing 1, a front housing 5, and a rear housing 6 as housings. In the cylindrical middle housing 1, a substantially cylindrical cylinder block 2 provided with a single spirally extending rib 2a is press-fitted. A front housing 5 and a rear housing 6 are joined to the front and rear of the middle housing 1 and the cylinder block 2 via gaskets 3 and 4,
As a result, a heating chamber 7 is defined in the cylinder block 2. Therefore, the cylinder block 2 and the front housing 5 and the rear housing 6 are positioned as partition members that partition the heat generating chamber 7 in the housing. The cylinder block 2 forms a part of the housing.

When the cylinder block 2 is pressed into the middle housing 1, the spiral ribs 2 a on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 come into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the middle housing 1. Thus, the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 and the middle housing 1
A water jacket 8 as a heat radiating chamber is formed between the water jacket 8 and the inner peripheral surface. A water inlet port 9A for taking in circulating water as a circulating fluid from a heating circuit (not shown) of the vehicle into the water jacket 8 at a front end side of an outer peripheral portion of the middle housing 1.
On the other hand, a water outlet port 9B for discharging circulating water from the water jacket 8 to the heating circuit is provided on the rear end side of the outer peripheral portion of the middle housing 1. In this water jacket 8, the rib 2a is provided at the water inlet port 9A.
It functions as circulating fluid guide means for setting a helical circulating path of the circulating fluid from to the water outlet port 9B.

A drive shaft 12 is rotatably supported by the front housing 5 and the rear housing 6 via bearing devices 10 and 11. An oil seal 13 as a shaft sealing device is provided in the front housing 5 adjacent to the heating chamber 7, and an oil seal 14 as a shaft sealing device in the rear housing 6 adjacent to the heating chamber 7. Is provided.
Thus, the heat generating chamber 7 is housed in the heat generating chamber 7 so that the central main portion of the drive shaft 12 is housed therein, and the heat generating chamber 7 is an airtight internal space. A rotor 15 is fixed to the drive shaft 12 in the heating chamber 7. The rotor 15 is formed in the shape of a hollow drum made of an aluminum alloy, and has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having an axis length L longer than a radius R from the axis (coincident with the axis of the drive shaft 12). I have.

In the heat generating chamber 7 as an airtight internal space,
The required amount is filled with silicone oil as a viscous fluid. The filling amount Vf of this silicone oil is
The clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder block 5 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 and the total clearance volume Vc of the respective clearances between the front and rear end surfaces of the rotor 15 and the front and rear housings 5 and 6 are silicone. The filling rate of the oil at room temperature is determined to be in the range of 50% to 70%. This takes into account oil expansion during heat generation. In addition, with the integral rotation of the drive shaft 12 and the rotor 15,
In the gap between the inner wall surface of the heating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 15,
Since the silicone oil is evenly interposed based on the surface tension, the fact that the filling rate of the oil is 70% or less does not particularly hinder the shear heat generation effect of the oil.

Bearing device 1 provided in front housing 5
6, the pulley 18 is rotatably supported. The pulley 18 is fixed to a front end (outer end) of the drive shaft 12 by a bolt 17. The pulley 18 is drivingly connected to a vehicle engine as an external drive source via a power transmission belt (not shown) applied to the outer peripheral portion. Therefore, the drive shaft 12 is rotated by the driving force of the engine via the pulley 18, and the rotor 15 is rotated integrally. Along with this, the silicone oil is sheared mainly in the gap between the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 and the outer surface of the rotor 15 to generate heat. This heat is exchanged with the circulating water in the water jacket 8 via the cylinder block 2, and the heated circulating water is supplied to the interior of the vehicle through a heating circuit.

Here, the viscosity coefficient of the viscous fluid is μ, the gap between the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 15 and the inner circumferential surface of the heating chamber 7 is δ ₁ , and the gap between each end face of the rotor 15 and the inner end face of the heating chamber 7 is Assuming that δ ₂ and the angular velocity are ω, the heat value Q ₁ at each end surface of the rotor 15 is Q ₁ = πμω ² R ⁴ / δ ₂ , and the heat value Q _{2 at} the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 is Q ₂ = 2πμω ² R ³ L / δ ₁ In this viscous heater, since the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 is the main shearing surface, δ ₁ <δ ₂ is set, and since the radius R is smaller than the axial length L, Q ₁ <Q ₂
As a result, a large amount of heat Q ₂ is secured on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15.

The ribs 2a function as heat conducting means for conducting and transmitting the heat transmitted from the heat generating chamber 7 to the cylinder block 2 further toward the middle housing 1. As a result, the circulating water flowing through the water jacket 8 can receive heat from both the cylinder block 2 as the inner partition member of the jacket 8 and the middle housing 1 as the outer partition member of the jacket 8.

Further, in this embodiment, the drum-shaped rotor 1
A plurality of oblique guide grooves 20 are formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rotor 5 so as to extend obliquely across the outer peripheral surface from one end surface to the other end surface of the rotor. Each oblique guide groove 20 functions as transfer means for forcibly moving the silicone oil interposed in the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 in the heat generating chamber 7.

That is, when the rotor 15 rotates together with the drive shaft 12 in the direction of arrow A1 in the figure, the oblique guide groove 20 causes the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 to increase. The intervening silicone oil is pushed toward the rear housing 6. as a result,
The entire rear end face side clearance between the rotor rear end face 15b and the rear housing 6 is filled with silicone oil,
Thereafter, the rotor front end face 15b is moved from the rotor rear end face 15b side.
The silicone oil is densely filled in the circumferential clearance between the outer circumferential surface of the rotor and the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder block in the manner of sequentially accumulating the fluid toward the direction a. At this time, in response to the forced transfer of oil by the oblique guide groove 20, a fluid suction action is generated from the front end face side clearance between the rotor front end face 15a and the front housing 5 to the peripheral surface clearance. This fluid suction action works more favorably on the rotor front end face 15a than the Weissenberg effect unique to viscous fluid. More specifically, the rotor front end face 15a and the front housing 5
Due to its viscoelasticity, the silicone oil interposed between and tends to gather around the drive shaft 12 which is the rotation center axis with the rotation of the drive shaft 12 and the rotor 15 (so-called Weissenberg effect). The fluid suction action surpasses the Weissenberg effect, and acts as if the silicone oil remaining in the front end face side clearance is sucked into the peripheral clearance.

Therefore, as long as the rotor 15 rotates, the silicone oil is biased toward the rear end of the rotor 15 as a whole, while the clearance near the front end of the rotor 15 becomes an empty space where no oil exists, as long as the heat generating chamber 7 is entirely rotated. . The empty space serves as a buffer space that allows the volume expansion of the oil at the time of heat generation and prevents the internal pressure of the heat generation chamber 7 from increasing.

The operation and effect of this embodiment will be described below. (A) If the oblique guide groove 20 as described above is not formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rotor 15, the front and rear end surfaces 15 are formed by the Weissenberg effect when the rotor 15 rotates.
a and 15b, the silicone oil is drawn around the drive shaft 12 and the silicone oil is removed from the circumferential clearance between the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 15 and the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder block 2 to remove the silicone oil. A considerable area of surface clearance can be free space. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as long as the rotor 15 rotates by providing the oblique guide groove 20, the forced transfer of oil from one of the front end and the rear end of the rotor 15 to the other is enabled, so that at least the circumferential surface Most of the clearance does not become an empty space without oil. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, despite the undesired tendency of the fluid movement due to the Weissenberg effect as described above, a considerable amount of the silicone oil is kept in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 which is the main shearing surface and the cylinder block 2. Can be continuously interposed between the inner peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface, and the heat generating ability by shearing can be maintained and improved.

(B) By rotating the rotor 15 to cause the oblique guide groove 20 to exert a forced transfer action of the viscous fluid, the clearance near the front end (or the clearance near the rear end) of the rotor 15 in the heating chamber 7 can be reduced. An empty space free of oil can be provided. This empty space functions as a buffer space that allows the volume expansion of the oil at the time of heat generation and prevents the internal pressure of the heat generating chamber 7 from increasing.

(C) By adopting the guide groove 20 as the transfer means, gas (such as air) interposed with the silicone oil in the heat generating chamber 7 can be secured (trapped) in the guide groove 20. Silicone oil can be efficiently filled in the clearance (main shearing region) between the region of the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 excluding the guide groove 20 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2. With this gas securing effect, it is possible to easily maintain and improve the heat generating capacity.

(D) As described in (c) above, by employing the guide groove 20 as the transfer means, the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 15 and the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder block 2 which relatively move the action of restraining the molecular chain of the silicone oil. It can be improved between planes. Due to this viscous fluid restraining effect, it is possible to easily maintain and improve the heat generating ability. (Embodiment 2) As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of fishbone-like guide grooves 21 as a transfer means are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the rotor 15, and the rotor 15 of FIG. 2 is replaced with the rotor 15 of FIG. May be incorporated in the heat generating chamber 7. The rotor 1 of FIG.
In 5, each guide groove 21 includes two oblique guide grooves 21a and 21b having different inclination directions. That is,
When the drive shaft 12 and the rotor 15 are rotated in the direction of arrow A2 in the figure, the silicone oil interposed between the outer surface of the rotor and the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 flows along the front oblique guide groove 21a along the groove 21a. It is transferred from the front end of the rotor toward the center of the outer peripheral portion of the rotor, and the rear oblique guide groove 21b
As a result, the rotor is transferred from the rear end of the rotor toward the vicinity of the center of the outer periphery of the rotor along the groove 21b.

As described above, the plurality of fish-bone shaped guide grooves 21
The silicone oil interposed in the clearance on the rotor front end face 15a side and the clearance on the rotor rear end face 15b side is brought to at least the outer peripheral portion of the rotor 15. Therefore, the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 can be filled with a sufficient amount of silicone oil, and therefore, the silicone oil generated by the rotor 15 can be filled. , It is possible to maintain and improve the heat generation capacity of the heater. Further, the fish-bone shaped guide groove 21 also exhibits the functions and effects (c) and (d) as in the first embodiment. (Embodiment 3) As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of guide grooves 22 (four in FIG. 3) as transfer means are formed on at least one of the front end face 15a and the rear end face 15b of the rotor 15. The rotor 15 of FIG. 1 may be incorporated in the heat generating chamber 7 instead of the rotor 15 of FIG. 3 rotor 15
In the above, each guide groove 22 is formed as a groove along a straight line that does not pass through the axis of the rotor 15 (the axis of the drive shaft 12). Drive shaft 12 and rotor 1 in the direction of arrow A3 in FIG.
When the rotor 5 is rotated, the silicone oil interposed between the rotor rear end surface 15b and the rear housing 6 is substantially centrifugally moved along the guide grooves 22 (that is, from the periphery of the drive shaft 12 to the rotor rear end surface). 15b).

As described above, the action of the guide grooves 22 formed on the end faces 15a and 15b overcomes the Weissenberg effect of collecting the silicone oil in the front end face and the rear end face side clearance around the drive shaft 12. Forced transfer can be performed toward the peripheral surface clearance.
Therefore, as in the first or second embodiment, the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 can be filled with a sufficient amount of silicone oil. Shearing can be realized, and the heat generation ability as a heater can be maintained and improved.

The second embodiment (FIG. 2) and the third embodiment
The configuration shown in FIG. 3 may be realized on the same rotor 15.
In this case, the synergistic action of the guide grooves 22 on both end surfaces 15a and 15b and the fish-bone-shaped guide grooves 21 on the outer peripheral portion dramatically increases the forced transfer operation of the silicone oil in the heat generating chamber 7 to the outer peripheral portion of the rotor. Enhanced. (Embodiment 4) The heating chamber 7 is replaced with a drum-shaped rotor 15 as shown in FIGS.
It may be incorporated within. That is, in the rotor 15 of FIG.
The outer peripheral surface of the center portion is provided with four outer peripheral surface openings 41 arranged at equal angular intervals, and the front end surface 15 of the rotor is provided.
In each of the rear end face 15a and the rear end face 15b, two end face openings 42 which are arranged close to each other while sandwiching the drive shaft 12 are provided.
Further, in the rotor 15, four communication passages 4 for communicating the four outer peripheral surface openings 41 with the respective end surface openings 42 are provided.
3 are formed. In this case, each communication path 43 functions as a transfer unit that guides the silicone oil that has gathered around the drive shaft 12 based on the Weissenberg effect accompanying the rotation of the rotor 15 to the outer peripheral area of the center of the drum-shaped rotor 15.

Therefore, similarly to the first, second and third embodiments, the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2 can be filled with sufficient silicone oil via the communication passage 43. As a result, continuous shearing of the silicone oil by the rotor 15 can be realized, and the heat generation capability as a heater can be maintained and improved.

Further, according to this configuration, the silicone oil drawn from the peripheral clearance in the outer peripheral region of the rotor toward the clearance of each end surface due to the influence of the Weissenberg effect further flows from the vicinity of the drive shaft 12 to the communication passage 43.
Through which the silicone oil is returned to the circumferential clearance again. Therefore, all the silicone oil in the heat generating chamber 7 can be uniformly subjected to the shearing action by the rotor 15. Therefore, an inconvenience in which only the partially retained silicone oil is intensively subjected to the shearing action and the deterioration of only the part of the oil progresses hardly occurs.

Further, since the communication passages 43 are inclined and communicate from the end face region of the rotor 15 near the drive shaft 12 to the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the central portion of the rotor 15, the viscous fluid based on the Weissenberg effect is formed. In addition to the movement, the centrifugal force can also act on the viscous fluid, and the smooth movement of the viscous fluid is realized by the synergistic action of these.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be implemented in the following manner, for example. (A) In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, guide grooves 20, 21, 21 are formed in the outer peripheral portion of rotor 15 and front and rear end surfaces 15 a, 15 b.
2 are formed, but instead of providing grooves on the surface of the rotor 15, these guide grooves 20,
Grooves corresponding to 21 and 22 may be formed. Also in this case, the same operation and effect as those of the first, second, and third embodiments can be obtained. This is because the clearance existing between the surface of the rotor 15 and the inner wall surface of the heat generating chamber 7 is very narrow, so that the size of the clearance falls within the boundary layer region of the viscous fluid (silicone oil). This is because the wall of the heat generating chamber, which generates a relative speed difference due to the rotation of the rotor, and the rotor surface are hydrodynamically equivalent.

(B) In the fourth embodiment (FIG. 4), the communication passage 43 is provided in the rotor 15, but a communication passage for the same purpose may be provided on the housing side. (C) The idea of the guide groove 22 as shown in FIG. 3 may be applied to a disk rotor having the front and rear surfaces of the disk as main shearing surfaces. In this case, the guide groove 22 functions to send the viscous fluid from the vicinity of the drive shaft 12 having a relatively low peripheral speed to the peripheral region of the disk having a relatively high peripheral speed. Will be collected,
The efficiency of shear heat generation is increased.

(D) In the above embodiment, the helical rib 2a is protruded from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder block 2. However, instead of such a rib 2a, almost the entire outer peripheral portion of the cylinder block 2 has a tip. May form a large number of radiating fins that do not contact the inner peripheral surface of the middle housing 1.

(E) The viscous heater of FIG. 1 employs an electromagnetic clutch mechanism between the pulley 18 and the drive shaft 12 so that the driving force of the engine can be selectively transmitted to the drive shaft 12 as required. Good.

(F) The transfer means may be formed by forming a ridge instead of the groove, and in this case, the same effect can be obtained. The term "viscous fluid" as used herein means any medium that generates heat based on fluid friction under the shearing action of a rotor, and is not limited to high-viscosity liquids and semi-fluids. The invention is not limited to silicone oil.

[0042]

As described in detail above, according to the viscous heater described in each claim, at least one of the rotor and the partition member of the heat generating chamber is provided with the transfer means for moving the viscous fluid in the heat generating chamber. Regardless of the shape of the rotor or the heater housing, the flow of the viscous fluid can be controlled so that the viscous fluid collects at a position where the heat generation performance can be maintained or enhanced. Therefore, the shape of the viscous heater can be designed not only to reduce the amount of heat generated as the heater but also to facilitate mounting on a vehicle or other products, and also to the basic shape of the rotor or the heater housing. It is possible to solve various problems that may occur with the change and exhibit excellent heat generation performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a viscous heater according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a viscous heater rotor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a viscous heater rotor according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a viscous heater rotor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a front view of the rotor, and (B) is a side view of the rotor.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Middle housing, 2 ... Cylinder block as a housing and partition member, 2a ... Rib for setting the circulation path of viscous fluid, 5 ... Front housing, 6 ... Rear housing (5 and 6 are also partition members), 7 ... heat generation chamber, 8 ... water jacket as heat dissipation chamber, 12 ... drive shaft, 15 ...
Rotor, 20 ... Oblique guide groove as transfer means, 21 ...
Guide grooves as transfer means, 21a, 21b: oblique guide grooves as transfer means, 22: guide grooves as transfer means, 43: communication paths as transfer means, R: radius, L: axial length.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A viscous heater in which a heat generating chamber and a heat radiating chamber are defined in a housing, and heat generated by shearing a viscous fluid contained in the heat generating chamber with a rotor is exchanged with a circulating fluid in the heat radiating chamber. The heat radiation chamber is provided so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, and the viscous fluid interposed between the rotor and the partition member is heated by at least one of the partition members that partition the rotor and the heat generation chamber. A viscous heater provided with a transfer means for moving in a specific direction in a room. 2. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein said transfer means is a guide groove formed in an outer peripheral portion of said rotor. 3. The viscous heater according to claim 2, wherein the guide groove as the transfer means is an oblique groove extending from one end to the other end in an outer peripheral portion of the rotor. 4. The viscous heater according to claim 2, wherein the guide groove as the transfer means is formed in a fishbone shape on an outer peripheral portion of the rotor. 5. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein said transfer means is a guide groove formed in an end face of said rotor. 6. The viscous heater according to claim 1, wherein the transfer means is a communication path provided to communicate an end surface area and an outer peripheral area of the rotor. 7. The viscous heater according to claim 6, wherein the communication path as the transfer means is provided inside the rotor. 8. The rotor is mounted on a drive shaft rotatably supported on the housing, and the rotor has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having a longer axis than a radius from the axis of the drive shaft. The viscous heater according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: 9. The viscous heater according to claim 8, wherein the radiating chamber includes a circulating fluid circulation path spirally set therein.