KR100980857B1 - Flow control valve of rheological fluid, control method thereof, flow control damper using thereof and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to flow control of a rheological fluid, and more particularly, to a flow control valve, a valve control method, a flow control damper and a damper control method of the rheological fluid to control the flow rate by controlling the viscosity of the rheological fluid . To this end, the first receiving portion for receiving the rheological fluid; And a flow control unit configured to communicate with the first accommodating part and to apply an electric or magnetic field to the fluid in the flow hole, wherein the viscosity of the fluid in the flow hole changes according to the strength of the electric or magnetic field. There is provided a flow control valve of the rheological fluid, characterized in that the flow is controlled. And a flow control damper provided with a 2nd accommodating part in a housing is provided.

Haptic, Rheological Fluid, Electric, Magnetic, Flow Hole, Shear Force, Flow Resistance, Damper, Receptacle

Description

Flow control valve of rheological fluid, control method method, flow control damper using approximate and control method

The present invention relates to flow control of a rheological fluid, and more particularly, to a flow control valve, a valve control method, a flow control damper and a damper control method of the rheological fluid to control the flow rate by controlling the viscosity of the rheological fluid .

Smart materials such as rheological fluids are materials that change the viscosity of the liquid itself in response to externally applied electrical energy (eg electric field) or magnetic energy (eg magnetic field). Rheological fluids are roughly classified into electric rheological fluids reacting to an electric field and magnetorheological fluids reacting to a magnetic field.

Recently, these rheological fluids are used to provide haptic effects in mobile terminals (eg mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, PMPs, MP3 players, electronic dictionaries, etc.), as actuators for robots, as tactile transmitters, or as dampers. The application field is gradually expanding. Therefore, the development of technology for controlling the flow of the rheological fluid is greatly active.

However, due to the disadvantage that the rheological fluid has a small area where viscosity increases in response to an electric or magnetic field, and a strong electric or magnetic field is required to change the viscosity of a large amount of the entire rheological fluid, power consumption is limited. There was this. In particular, when using it as a tactile transmission device of a mobile terminal using a rheological fluid has a disadvantage that the power consumption is severe. The same was true for robots or vibration dampers (eg dampers).

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention, the flow control valve, the valve control method of the flow fluid, which can change the hardness of the whole fluid even with a small power consumption, It is to provide a flow control damper and a damper control method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a flow control valve, a valve control method, a flow control damper and a damper control method using the same, which can be utilized not only as a valve but also as a vibration damper by effectively controlling the flow rate of the fluid. .

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the preferred embodiments described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The object of the present invention as described above, as a category of the invention of the present invention, the first receiving portion for receiving the rheological fluid; And

The flow control unit is formed in communication with the first receiving portion, the flow control unit for applying an electric or magnetic field to the fluid in the flow hole;

It can be achieved by the flow control valve of the rheological fluid, characterized in that the flow is controlled by changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole in accordance with the strength of the electric or magnetic field.

In addition, the first receptacles 122 and 322 may include hollow housings 110 and 310 having an empty interior;

First pressure plates 120 and 320 provided at one side in the housings 110 and 330 and movable in the housings 110 and 330; And

It is preferable to be formed of one surface of the flow control unit 150, 350 located in the housing (110, 330).

In addition, the housing (110, 310) is preferably a hollow cylinder member of the cross section, such as circular, rectangular, elliptical, polygonal.

In addition, the flow control unit 150, 350 is preferably located in the middle region or the other side of the hollow cylinder-type housing (110, 310).

The cross section of the flow hole 160 may be a partial annular shape.

Further, as a first embodiment, the rheology fluid is a magnetorheological fluid, the flow control unit 150,

Bobbin 165 in which the flow hole 160 is formed; And a coil 155 wound around the bobbin 165.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a terminal 180 electrically connected to the coil 155 from the outside.

As another second embodiment, the rheological fluid is an electric rheological fluid, the flow control unit 350,

A flow control panel 355 in which a flow hole 360 is formed;

An anode line 357 passing through the flow hole 360 to be exposed; And

And a cathode ray 359 proximate the anode line 357 while passing through the flow hole 360 to be exposed.

In addition, the cathode 359 is preferably provided in a direction perpendicular to the anode 357.

The terminal 380 may further include a terminal 380 electrically connected to the anode line 357 and the cathode line 359 from the outside.

In addition, the flow control valve of the rheological fluid according to the configuration; And

The object of the present invention can also be achieved by the flow control damper of the rheology fluid, characterized in that it is formed by a second receiving portion 442 for accommodating the rheology fluid passing through the flow hole of the flow control part.

In addition, the second accommodation portion 442,

An empty hollow housing 110;

A second pressure plate 140 provided on the other side of the housing 110 and movable in the housing 110; And

Most preferably, the other surface of the flow control unit 150 located in the housing 110 is formed.

An object of the present invention as described above, as another category of the present invention, the step of pressing the first receiving portion in which the rheological fluid is accommodated (S100);

Step (S200) passing through the flow hole of the flow control unit as the rheology fluid in the first receiving portion is pressed;

Applying an electric or magnetic field to the flow hole (S300);

Changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole by an applied electric or magnetic field (S400);

The flow resistance is changed by the viscosity of the changed fluid, and thus the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow hole is changed (S500), which can be achieved by the method of controlling the flow control valve of the fluid. Can be.

In the viscosity change step (S400), it is preferable that the viscosity of the rheological fluid also increases as the intensity of the electric field or the magnetic field increases.

In addition, the flow resistance of the flow rate change step (S500) is most preferably caused by the shear force between the flow hole and the rheological fluid.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the step of pressing the first receiving portion in which the fluid is accommodated (S100);

Step (S200) passing through the flow hole of the flow control unit as the rheology fluid in the first receiving portion is pressed;

Applying an electric or magnetic field to the flow hole (S300);

Changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole by an applied electric or magnetic field (S400);

Changing the flow resistance due to the changed viscosity of the rheological fluid, and thus changing the flow rate of the rheological fluid passing through the flow hole (S500); And

The object of the present invention can also be achieved by the method for controlling the flow rate damper of the oilfield fluid, characterized in that the oilfield fluid having passed through the flow hole is stored in the second accommodating part (S600).

Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention as described above, the change in viscosity of the minimum amount of fluid flow even with a small amount of power, but due to the incompressibility of the fluid can be obtained the effect of changing the hardness of the entire fluid flow. Therefore, power consumption of the portable device can be minimized.

In addition, there is an effect that can be used as a damper or a vibration reducing member by accommodating the rheological fluid passing through the flow control valve to the second receiving portion.

In particular, when the flow control valve is applied to a portable terminal, it can be used as an actuator for passive haptic feedback. In this case, whenever the user presses the mobile terminal, the user may receive a hard feeling (haptic feedback) or a soft feeling by the execution of the application program.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various other modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is obvious that all modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

(First Example  Configuration)

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described with respect to the configuration of the flow control valve of the rheological fluid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a flow control valve using a magnetorheological fluid as a first embodiment of a flow control valve of a rheological fluid according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the flow control valve 100 of the magnetorheological fluid includes a cylindrical housing 100 and some accessory members.

The housing 100 has a cylindrical shape, has an empty inside, a first pressure plate 120 is fitted at one end thereof, and a flow control unit 150 is fitted at an intermediate region thereof. The terminal 180 is exposed to the outer surface of the housing 110 and is wired internally to transmit electrical energy to the flow control unit 150.

The first pressing plate 120 may be inserted into the housing 110 to move forward or backward in the housing 110 according to the force 20 applied from the outside. The pressing force 20 applied from the outside may be a constant force, a load, an irregular vibration by a rotating machine, or a force touched by a finger.

The magnetorheological fluid is accommodated in the first accommodating part 122 between the first pressure plate 120 and the flow control part 150. Magneto-Rheological Fluid (MRF) is a fluid whose viscosity changes with magnetic field. That is, the magnetorheological fluid has a low viscous state in the absence of a magnetic field and then changes to a high viscous state such as hardening when a magnetic field is applied. That is, when the magnetorheological fluid becomes a high viscosity state, the flow resistance increases. Magnetorheological fluids are rapidly increasing in viscosity because particles are arranged in a chain-like structure in the direction of the magnetic field under the influence of an applied magnetic field. A magnetorheological fluid is one whose viscosity increases in proportion to the strength of an applied magnetic field. Magnetorheological fluids have the advantages of high toughness, low viscosity, stiffness, stability and wide temperature range, fast response (within 10 ms), and incompressibility.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operating state of the flow control valve illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the flow control unit 130 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the flow control unit 150 has a disk shape, and is largely composed of a bobbin 165, a coil 155, and a closing plate 170.

The bobbin 165 has a round shape, and a space is formed in the inner circumference so that the coil 155 is wound and accommodated. Two flow holes 160 are formed at the center of the bobbin 165. The flow hole 160 is a through hole through which the rheological fluid can pass, the cross section is partially annular, and two are symmetrically formed. Since the flow hole 160 is a place where shear force is generated between the fluid and the fluid, it is preferable that the flow hole 160 is sufficiently long in the longitudinal direction, and the width of the hole is very narrow (or the cross-sectional area of the flow hole is very small).

The coil 155 is wound several times to several tens of times and is accommodated around the inside of the bobbin 165 to generate a magnetic field using electric energy applied from the terminal 180.

The closing plate 170 is combined with the bobbin 165 to form one surface of the flow control unit 150.

(First Example  action)

Hereinafter, a method of operating a flow control valve of a magnetorheological fluid having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, when the first pressure plate 120 enters into the housing 110 by the pressing force 20, the magnetorheological fluid in the first accommodating part 122 receives a pressure 124 (S100).

Then, as the magnetorheological fluid in the first accommodating part 122 is pressurized, the magnetorheological fluid passes through the flow hole 160 of the flow control part 150 (S200). At this time, the flow hole 160 is very small in cross section, the long length is advantageous for the generation of shear force.

Next, a magnetic field is applied to the flow hole 160 (S300). That is, when electricity is applied through the terminal 180, a magnetic field is formed in the coil 155, and a strong magnetic field is formed in the flow hole 160 adjacent to the coil 155.

Then, the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid in the flow hole 160 is increased by the applied magnetic field (S400). At this time, if the magnetic field is weak, only the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid adjacent to the inner surface of the flow hole 160 increases and becomes hard, and the viscosity of the center area of the flow hole 160 is maintained in a liquid state. This is as if the area of the flow hole 160 is reduced. Thus, a greater shear force acts on the magnetorheological fluid passing through the flow hole 160, which in turn leads to greater flow resistance.

Therefore, the flow resistance is increased by the viscosity of the rheological fluid that is hardly increased, and thus the flow rate of the rheological fluid passing through the flow hole 160 is reduced (S500).

If a very large magnetic field is formed, the entire flow hole 160 may be blocked by a hard magnetorheological fluid.

Then, if the intensity of the applied magnetic field is weakened, the viscosity of the hardened magnetorheological fluid decreases and the fluid returns to the soft fluid property. As a result, the flow resistance decreases, so that the flow rate of the rheological fluid increases.

The magnetorheological fluid that has passed through the flow control part 150 may be stored in the second accommodating part 442 to be described later and reused or used in reverse, or may be sent to the next process.

(Second Example  Configuration)

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a flow control valve 300 using an electric rheological fluid as a second embodiment of the flow control valve of the rheological fluid according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the configuration of the housing 310, the first pressing plate 320, and the first receiving portion 322 is the same as or similar to that of the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions thereof are replaced with those of the first embodiment.

Electro-Rheological Fluid (ERF) in the first accommodating part 322 is a fluid whose viscosity changes according to an electric field. In other words, the electro-fluidic fluid is a suspension in which highly polarized particles are dispersed in an insulating fluid, and when the electric field is absent, it is in a low viscosity state and is changed into a high viscosity state such as hardened when applied to the electric field. That is, when the electric rheological fluid is in a high viscosity state, the shear resistance inside the flow hole 360 is increased to increase the flow resistance. An electrorheological fluid is one whose viscosity increases rapidly because particles are arranged in a chain-like structure in the direction of an electric field under the influence of an applied electric field. An electrorheological fluid is one whose viscosity increases in proportion to the strength of an applied electric field. Electro-fluidic fluids have the advantages of high tensile and low viscosity, stiffness, stability and wide temperature range, fast response (within 10 ms), and are incompressible and can be applied to haptic applications.

A schematic component of such an electrorheological fluid consists of polyaniline / titanium dioxide composite as conductive particles. That is, the electrorheological fluid is prepared by dispersing an organic-inorganic complex compound of polyaniline, which is a conductive polymer, and titanium dioxide having a high dielectric constant in a nonconductive solvent. In this case, the degree of polarization increases the electric rheological effect, and since the use of organic and inorganic particles as the conductive particles, there is an advantage that can operate without obstacles of temperature or external environment. More specifically, the electrorheological fluid is a polyaniline / TiO ₂ organic-inorganic composite in which the amount of TiO ₂ particles is 15 to 35% by weight based on polyaniline as conductive particles.

In addition, one side of the housing 310 is provided with a pair of electrodes 380. The electrode 380 is wired to the flow control unit 350 through the housing 310.

5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation state of the flow control valve illustrated in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the flow control unit 350 in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the flow hole 360 in FIG. 6. to be. 5 to 7, the flow control unit 350 includes a flow control plate 355, an anode line 357, and a cathode line 359.

The flow control panel 355 has a circular disk shape and a flow hole 360 penetrates through the center thereof. Two semicircular grooves 352 are formed on one surface of the flow control panel 355, and they are positioned in the shape of a cross (+). The anode line 357 passes through one of the two grooves 352, and the cathode line 359 passes through the other groove 352. In particular, these two grooves intersect in the center region, and at the intersections, the flow holes 360 are formed to penetrate in the thickness direction of the flow control plate 355. Accordingly, the anode line 357 and the cathode line 359 are exposed in the flow hole 360. And, the depth of the groove 352 for the anode line 357 is deeper than the depth of the groove 352 for the cathode line 359. Therefore, the anode line 357 and the cathode line 359 exposed in the flow hole 360 do not contact each other and cross each other while being minutely spaced apart.

In addition, at least one end of the flow hole 360 is curved in a funnel shape in order to smooth the flow of the fluid.

(Second Example  action)

Hereinafter, the operation of the flow control valve of the magnetorheological fluid according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, when the first pressing plate 320 enters into the housing 310 by the pressing force 20, the electric rheological fluid in the first accommodating part 322 receives a pressure 324 (S100).

Next, the electro-fluidic fluid in the first accommodating part 322 is passed through the flow hole 360 of the flow control unit 350 as it is pressed (S200).

Next, an electric field is applied to the flow hole 360 (S300). That is, when electricity is applied through the terminal 380, a strong electric field is formed in a region where the anode line 357 and the cathode line 359 are adjacent to each other, and a strong electric field is formed inside the flow hole 360.

Then, the viscosity of the electric rheological fluid in the flow hole 360 is increased by the applied electric field (S400). At this time, when the electric field is weak, only the viscosity of the electro-fluidic fluid adjacent to the inner surface of the flow hole 360 increases and becomes hard, and the viscosity of the center area of the flow hole 360 maintains a liquid state. This is as if the area of the flow hole 360 is reduced. Thus, a greater shear force acts on the electrofluidic fluid passing through the flow hole 360, which in turn leads to greater flow resistance.

Therefore, the flow resistance is increased due to the viscosity of the hardened electric rheological fluid, and thus the flow rate of the electric rheological fluid passing through the flow hole 360 is reduced (S500).

If a very large electric field is formed, the entire flow hole 360 may be blocked by a hard magnetorheological fluid.

Then, if the intensity of the applied electric field is weakened, the viscosity of the hardened electrorheological fluid decreases and the fluid returns to the soft fluid property. As a result, the flow resistance decreases, thereby increasing the flow rate of the electrofluidic fluid.

The electric rheological fluid that has passed through the flow control unit 350 may be stored in the second accommodating part 442 to be described later, reused or used in reverse, or may be sent to the next process.

( Variant )

8 is a perspective view of a flow control damper according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the second pressure plate 140 is provided on the other side of the housing 110. The second pressure plate 140 is movable in the longitudinal direction in the housing 110. The most preferable form is to have the first and second pressure plates 120 and 140 in the same configuration.

Therefore, the space formed by the other surface of the flow control unit 150, the housing 110, and the second pressure plate 140 becomes the second receiving unit 442. In the second accommodating part 442, the rheological fluid passing through the flow control part 150 is collected. The second pressure plate 140 moves in the housing 110 according to the amount and pressure of the collected rheological fluid. However, the first and second pressure plates 120, 140 are configured (eg, stoppers, not shown) to limit maximum movement.

When the flow control damper is configured as shown in FIG. 8, the force, vibration, shock, and load applied to the first pressure plate 120 are attenuated and transmitted without being directly transmitted through the housing 110 or the second pressure plate 140. Done. In addition, it can also be used as a two-way damper for the purpose of changing the use of both ends of the housing 110, or to attenuate the force acting on both ends as necessary.

The flow control valve or the flow control damper according to the present invention can be manufactured in a small size and arranged in a matrix form (eg 4 × 4) to reduce the force of a larger capacity or control the flow rate.

As another variant of the present invention, the first and second accommodating parts may be deleted, and the rheological fluid may be supplied from the upstream of the flow to flow downstream. The first and second accommodating parts of the present invention may be broadly interpreted in the sense of accommodating a rheological fluid.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a flow control valve using a magnetorheological fluid as a first embodiment of a flow control valve of a rheological fluid according to the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the flow control valve shown in FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of the flow control unit 130 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a flow control valve using an electric rheological fluid as a second embodiment of a flow control valve of a rheological fluid according to the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of the flow control valve shown in FIG. 4;

6 is a perspective view of the flow control unit 350 of FIG.

7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion around the flow hole 360 of FIG. 6,

8 is a perspective view of a flow control damper according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: pressing force,

100: flow control valve of the magnetorheological fluid,

110: housing,

120: first pressure plate,

122: first receiving portion,

124: pressure,

126: flow line,

140: second pressure plate,

150: flow control unit,

155: coil,

160: floating hole,

165: bobbin,

170: finishing plate,

180: terminal,

300: flow control valve of the electric rheological fluid,

310: housing,

320: first pressure plate,

322: first receiving portion,

324: pressure,

326: flow line,

350: flow control unit,

352: home,

355: flow control panel,

357: anode wire,

359: cathode ray,

360: floating hole

380: terminal,

400: flow control damper,

442: second receiving portion.

Claims (15)

Hollow housings 110 and 310 in which the rheological fluid is accommodated; First pressure plates (120, 320) provided at one side of the housing (110, 330) and movable in the housing (110, 330); And First receiving parts 122 and 322 formed on one surface of the flow control parts 150 and 350 located in the housings 110 and 330; and A flow control unit formed with a flow hole communicating with the first accommodation unit and configured to apply an electric field or a magnetic field to the fluid in the flow hole; The flow control valve of the rheological fluid, characterized in that the flow is controlled by changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole in accordance with the strength of the electric or magnetic field. delete The method of claim 1, The housing (110, 310) is a flow control valve for a rheological fluid, characterized in that the hollow cylinder type member. The method of claim 3, wherein The flow control unit (150, 350) is a flow control valve for a rheological fluid, characterized in that located in the middle region or the other side of the hollow cylindrical housing (110, 310). The method of claim 1, A cross section of the flow hole 160 is a flow control valve of the rheology fluid, characterized in that the partial annular. The method of claim 1, The rheological fluid is a magnetorheological fluid, The flow control unit 150, A bobbin 165 in which the flow hole 160 is formed; And A coil (155) wound around the bobbin (165); flow control valve of the fluid. The method of claim 6, The flow control valve of the rheology fluid, characterized in that it further comprises a terminal (180) electrically connected to the coil (155) from the outside. The method of claim 1, The rheology fluid is an electric rheology fluid, The flow control unit 350, A flow control plate 355 in which the flow hole 360 is formed; An anode line 357 passing through the flow hole 360 to be exposed; And And a cathode ray (359) close to the anode line (357) while passing through the flow hole (360) so as to be exposed to the flow hole (360). The method of claim 8, The cathode ray (359) is a flow control valve of the rheological fluid, characterized in that provided in a direction perpendicular to the anode line (357). The method of claim 8, And a terminal (380) electrically connected from the outside to the anode line (357) and the cathode line (359). A flow rate control valve of the rheological fluid according to any one of claims 1 to 10; And The flow control damper of the rheology fluid, characterized in that it is formed with a second receiving portion (442) for accommodating the fluid flow through the flow hole of the flow control unit. The method of claim 11, The second receiving portion 442, An empty hollow housing 110; A second pressure plate 140 provided at the other side of the housing 110 and movable in the housing 110; And Flow control damper of the rheological fluid, characterized in that formed on the other surface of the flow control unit 150 located in the housing (110). Pressing the first receiving part in which the rheological fluid is accommodated (S100); Step (S200) passing through the flow hole of the flow control unit as the rheological fluid in the first receiving portion is pressed; Applying an electric field or a magnetic field to the flow hole (S300); Changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole by an applied electric or magnetic field (S400); The flow resistance is changed by the viscosity of the changed fluid, and thus the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow hole is changed (S500); flow control valve control method for a rheological fluid comprising a. The method of claim 13, The flow resistance of the flow rate change step (S500) is a flow control valve control method of the rheology fluid, characterized in that caused by the shear force between the flow hole and the rheology fluid. Pressing the first receiving part in which the rheological fluid is accommodated (S100); Step (S200) passing through the flow hole of the flow control unit as the rheological fluid in the first receiving portion is pressed; Applying an electric field or a magnetic field to the flow hole (S300); Changing the viscosity of the rheological fluid in the flow hole by an applied electric or magnetic field (S400); Changing the flow resistance by the viscosity of the changed fluid, and thus changing the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow hole (S500); And Flow control fluid damper control method comprising the step of storing the fluid flow through the flow hole in the second receiving portion (S600).

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