JP6555035B2 - Air flow control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air flow adjusting device including a polymer actuator.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, air conditioners have been provided with doors for adjusting the air flow such as air mix doors and air outlet switching doors, and these doors are generally operated by a servo motor or the like. Thus, when a servo motor is used for the operation of the door, it is necessary to secure a space for installing the motor, and further a motor operating noise is generated.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses the use of a polymer actuator that warps and deforms when a voltage is applied as a door for adjusting the air flow.

JP 2008-261580 A

  However, the polymer actuator described in Patent Document 1 is configured as an integral type. Since the polymer actuator bends so as to draw an arc when voltage is applied, the configuration of Patent Document 1 requires a large space for opening and closing the door.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to reduce an installation space in an air flow adjusting device including a polymer actuator.

In order to achieve the above object, in the first aspect of the present invention, a polymer membrane (101a) provided in the air passage (10) through which air flows and having ion conductivity between the two electrode layers (101b, 101c). ) Is sandwiched between the pair of polymer actuators (101, 102), the pair of polymer actuators are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval, and the polymer actuator is displaced based on voltage application to the electrode layer. By doing so, the flow of air in the air passage is adjusted. The pair of polymer actuators can be displaced so as to approach each other, so that at least a part of them can overlap each other. In the portion where the pair of polymer actuators overlap, the electrode layer of one polymer actuator and The electrode layers of the other polymer actuator facing each other have different polarities of applied voltages.

According to this, by adjusting the air flow of the air passage by a pair of polymer actuators (101, 102), compared to the case of adjusting the air flow of the air passage by one polymer actuator (101, 102), The air flow adjusting device can be reduced in size.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the guide portion (103) having a shape corresponding to the displacement of the polymer actuator is provided, and the polymer actuator is displaced along the guide portion.
In the invention according to claim 8, a plurality of pairs of polymer actuators are provided, a plurality of pairs of polymer actuators are arranged in a matrix, and a voltage is applied to the electrode layer in each of the polymer actuators. The polymer actuator wiring is arranged in a matrix.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means shows an example of a corresponding relationship with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

It is a whole block diagram of the vehicle air conditioner of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric control part of a vehicle air conditioner. It is a perspective view of the blowing mode door, (a) shows an open state, (b) shows a closed state. It is a figure which shows the operating principle of a polymer actuator. It is VV sectional drawing of FIG. It is a whole block diagram of the vehicle air conditioner of 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view of an air mix door. It is a circuit diagram of an air mix door.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, parts that are the same or equivalent to each other will be described with the same reference numerals.

(First embodiment)
1st Embodiment which applied the air flow adjustment apparatus of this invention to the blowing mode doors 27-29 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is described with reference to FIGS.

  The vehicle air conditioner 1 has a casing 10 that constitutes an air passage for blown air blown into the vehicle interior. In the casing 10, a blower 16, an evaporator 17, a heater core 21, and the like are accommodated. The casing 10 is formed of a resin (for example, polypropylene) having a certain degree of elasticity and excellent in strength.

  An inside / outside air switching box 11 is arranged on the most upstream side of the blast air flow in the casing 10. The inside / outside air switching box 11 is an inside / outside air switching means for switching and introducing vehicle interior air and vehicle interior air. Hereinafter, vehicle interior air is referred to as inside air, and vehicle interior air is referred to as outside air.

  In the inside / outside air switching box 11, an inside air introduction port 12 and an outside air introduction port 13 are formed. The inside air introduction port 12 is an inside air introduction unit that introduces inside air into the casing 10. The outside air inlet 13 is an outside air introduction unit that introduces outside air into the casing 10.

  An inside / outside air switching door 14 is arranged inside the inside / outside air switching box 11. The inside / outside air switching door 14 continuously adjusts the opening areas of the inside air introduction port 12 and the outside air introduction port 13 to change the air amount ratio between the amount of the inside air to be introduced into the casing 10 and the amount of the outside air. Means (suction port mode switching means).

  The inside / outside air switching door 14 is driven by an electric actuator 15. The operation of the electric actuator 15 for the inside / outside air switching door 14 is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning controller 50.

  The inside / outside air switching door 14 is a suction port mode switching means for switching the suction port mode. The suction port mode includes an inside air mode, an outside air mode, and an inside / outside air mixing mode.

  In the inside air mode, the inside / outside air switching door 14 fully opens the inside air inlet 12 and fully closes the outside air inlet 13, so that the inside air is introduced into the casing 10. In the outside air mode, the inside / outside air switching door 14 fully closes the inside air introduction port 12 and fully opens the outside air introduction port 13, so that outside air is introduced into the casing 10.

  In the inside / outside air mixing mode, the inside / outside air switching door 14 continuously adjusts the opening area of the inside air introduction port 12 and the outside air introduction port 13, so that the introduction ratio of the inside air to the outside air is continuous between the inside air mode and the outside air mode. To be changed.

  A blower 16 is arranged on the downstream side of the air flow in the inside / outside air switching box 11. The blower 16 is a blowing unit that blows air sucked through the inside / outside air switching box 11 toward the vehicle interior. The blower 16 is an electric blower that drives a centrifugal multiblade fan with an electric motor. The rotational speed of the electric motor of the blower 16 is controlled by a control voltage output from the air conditioning control device 50. Thereby, the ventilation capability of the air blower 16 is controlled.

  An evaporator 17 is disposed on the downstream side of the air flow of the blower 16. The evaporator 17 constitutes a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, a condenser and the like (not shown).

  Inside the evaporator 17, a refrigerant that is a heat medium flows. The evaporator 17 is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the air blown from the blower 16 and the refrigerant. The evaporator 17 is a cooling unit that cools the blown air using a refrigerant.

  In the casing 10, a cold air passage 18 for heating, a cold air bypass passage 19, and a mixing space 20 are formed.

  The cold air passage 18 for heating and the cold air bypass passage 19 are air passages through which air after passing through the evaporator 17 flows. The cold air passage 18 for heating and the cold air bypass passage 19 are parallel air passages. The mixing space 20 is a space for mixing the air flowing out from the heating cold air passage 18 and the cold air bypass passage 19.

  A heater core 21 is disposed in the cold air passage 18 for heating. The heater core 21 is a heating unit that heats the blown air after passing through the evaporator 17 by using engine cooling water circulating in a cooling water circuit (not shown) as a heat medium.

  The heater core 21 is air temperature adjusting means that adjusts the blown air temperature using heat generated by the engine. The blown air temperature is the temperature of air blown from the vehicle air conditioner 1 into the vehicle interior.

  The cold air bypass passage 19 is an air passage that guides the air that has passed through the evaporator 17 to the mixing space 20 without passing through the heater core 21. An air mix door 22 is disposed on the downstream side of the air flow of the evaporator 17 and on the inlet side of the cold air passage 18 for heating and the cold air bypass passage 19.

  The air mix door 22 is an air volume ratio changing means for continuously changing the air volume ratio between the cold air flowing into the heating cold air passage 18 (that is, the cold air passing through the heater core 21) and the cold air flowing into the cold air bypass passage 19. . The air mix door 22 is a temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of the blown air blown into the vehicle interior. That is, the air mix door 22 changes the air volume ratio between the air passing through the heating cold air passage 18 and the air passing through the cold air bypass passage 19, thereby changing the temperature of the blown air mixed in the mixing space 20. To do.

  The air mix door 22 is a cantilever door having a rotating shaft and a plate-like door main body. The rotating shaft of the air mix door 22 is driven by an electric actuator 23 for the air mix door. The door main body of the air mix door 22 is connected to one end side of the rotation shaft of the air mix door 22. The operation of the electric actuator 23 for the air mix door is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning controller 50.

  Air outlets 24 to 26 are arranged at the most downstream portion of the blown air flow of the casing 10. The blowout ports 24 to 26 are blowout means for blowing blown air from the mixing space 20 into the vehicle interior. In other words, the air outlets 24 to 26 are air blowing means for blowing the temperature-adjusted blown air to the air-conditioning target space.

  The air outlets 24 to 26 are the face air outlet 24, the foot air outlet 25, and the defroster air outlet 26. The face outlet 24 blows out air-conditioned air toward the upper body of the passenger in the passenger compartment. The foot outlet 25 blows out conditioned air toward the feet of the passenger. The defroster outlet 26 blows out conditioned air toward the inner surface of the vehicle front window glass W.

  Air outlet mode doors 27 to 29 are arranged on the air flow upstream side of the air outlets 24 to 26, respectively. As the blowout mode doors 27 to 29, a face door 27, a foot door 28, and a defroster door 29 are provided.

  The face door 27 adjusts the opening area of the face outlet 24. The foot door 28 adjusts the opening area of the foot outlet 25. The defroster door 29 adjusts the opening area of the defroster outlet 26. The face door 27, the foot door 28, and the defroster door 29 are blowing mode switching means for switching the blowing mode.

  The blowing modes switched by the face door 27, the foot door 28, and the defroster door 29 are a face mode, a bi-level mode, a foot mode, and a foot defroster mode.

  In the face mode, the face air outlet 24 is fully opened, and air is blown out from the face air outlet 24 toward the upper body of the passenger in the passenger compartment. In the bi-level mode, both the face air outlet 24 and the foot air outlet 25 are opened, and air is blown out toward the upper body and the feet of the passengers in the vehicle interior.

  In the foot mode, the foot outlet 25 is fully opened, the defroster outlet 26 is opened by a small opening, and air is mainly blown out from the foot outlet 25. In the foot defroster mode, the foot outlet 25 and the defroster outlet 26 are opened to the same extent, and air is blown out from both the foot outlet 25 and the defroster outlet 26.

  The operation of the blowout mode doors 27 to 29 is controlled by a control signal output from the air conditioning control device 50. A specific configuration of the blowing mode doors 27 to 29 will be described in detail later.

  The air conditioning control device 50 (air conditioning control means) shown in FIG. 2 includes a known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like and its peripheral circuits, and performs various calculations based on a control program stored in the ROM. Performs processing and controls the operation of various devices connected to the output side. The air conditioning control device 50 is air conditioning control means for controlling air conditioning.

  On the output side of the air conditioning control device 50, the blower 16, the inside / outside air switching door electric actuator 15, the air mix door electric actuator 23, the blow-out mode doors 27 to 29, and the like are connected. A sensor group for air conditioning control such as an inside air sensor and an outside air sensor is connected to the input side of the air conditioning controller 50.

  Operation signals from various air conditioning operation switches are input to the input side of the air conditioning control device 50. Various air conditioning operation switches are provided on the air conditioning operation panel 51. The air conditioning operation panel 51 is disposed near the instrument panel in the front part of the vehicle interior.

  The operation panel 51 is provided with an operation switch, an auto switch, an operation mode switching switch, a blow mode switching switch, an air volume setting switch, a vehicle interior temperature setting switch, and the like of the vehicle air conditioner 1 as air conditioning operation switches.

  The air conditioning control device 50 has hardware and software for controlling various control target devices connected to the output side. The hardware and software for controlling various control target devices of the air conditioning control device 50 are control means for controlling the operation of the various control target devices. Of the air conditioning control device 50, hardware and software for controlling switching of the blowing mode are blowing mode switching means.

  Next, the blowing mode doors 27 to 29 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the direction from the bottom to the top of the page is the air flow direction.

  The three blowing mode doors 27 to 29 are configured as an air flow adjusting device 100 having the same configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, the air flow adjusting device 100 includes opening / closing members 101 and 102, a frame member 103, and a side wall member 104. The opening and closing members 101 and 102 are a pair of plate-like members that are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval. The open / close members 101 and 102 are made of an ion conductive polymer actuator that is displaced by voltage application.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the polymer actuator constituting the open / close members 101 and 102 includes a polymer film 101a and electrode layers 101b and 101c.

  The polymer film 101a is constituted by a thin film of a polymer material having ion conductivity. The electrode layers 101b and 101c constitute a pair of electrodes that sandwich the polymer film 101a, and are each composed of a conductive metal thin film. The electrode layers 101b and 101c are formed in a sheet shape on both surfaces of the polymer film 101a.

  The polymer film 101a and the electrode layers 101b and 101c are made of, for example, the following materials.

  First, as constituent materials of the polymer film 101a and the electrode layers 101b and 101c, the electrode layers 101b and 101c are bonded to the polymer film 101a, and the electrode layers 101b and 101c are peeled from the polymer film 101a. Those that do not occur are preferred.

  The electrode layers 101b and 101c are not particularly limited as long as they are materials having electrical conductivity (that is, electrical conductivity), and any materials may be used. The electrode layers 101b and 101c can be easily formed by plating the polymer film 101a. Therefore, copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum ( A metal electrode material mainly containing a conductive metal such as Pt) is preferable. In particular, the electrode layers 101b and 101c are more preferably formed of a metal electrode material containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, palladium, and rhodium.

  The polymer membrane 101a is preferably configured mainly with an ion exchange resin because it is easy to process. For example, the polymer membrane 101a is configured by filling the ion exchange resin with an electrolyte. The ion exchange resin is not particularly limited, and a known resin can be used, and a resin in which a hydrophilic functional group such as a sulfonic acid group or a carboxyl group is introduced into polyethylene, polystyrene, fluororesin, or the like is used. Can do. In particular, a cation in which a sulfonic acid group and / or a carboxyl group is introduced into a fluororesin as an ion exchange resin because of its moderate rigidity, large ion exchange amount, good chemical resistance and durability against repeated bending. It is preferable to use an exchange resin.

  Examples of such resins include perfluorosulfonic acid resin (trade name “Nafion”, manufactured by DuPont), perfluorocarboxylic acid resin (trade name “Flemion”, manufactured by Asahi Glass), ACIPLEX (manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.), NEOSEPTA (manufactured by Tokuyama Corporation) can be used.

  Further, the electrolyte solution preferably contains an ionic liquid. The ionic liquid is also called a room temperature molten salt and has almost no vapor pressure at room temperature (about 25 ° C.). This ionic liquid is suitable for long-term driving because it does not evaporate with time and the like, and changes in displacement and deformation of the ion conductive polymer actuator hardly occur over time.

The ionic liquid can be used without any particular limitation. Among them, ionic liquids are imidazolium ions such as tetraalkylammonium ions, dialkylimidazolium ions, trialkylimidazolium ions, alkylpyridinium ions, pyrazolium ions, pyrrolium ions, pyrrolium ions, pyrrolidinium ions, and pipettes. A cation selected from at least one selected from the group consisting of lysinium ions, PF ₆ ⁻ , BF ₄ ⁻ , AlCl ₄ ⁻ , ClO ₄ ⁻ , NCS ⁻ , COOH ⁻ , C ₂ F ₆ NO ₄ S ₂ ⁻ and It is preferable to include a salt composed of a combination with at least one anion selected from the group consisting of the sulfonium imide anions shown. These ionic liquids may be used alone or in combination of two or more. In the following chemical formula 1, n and m are arbitrary integers.

_{(C n F (2n + 1} ) SO 3) (C m F (2m + 1) SO 2) N - ··· ( Formula 1)
Next, the operation principle of the polymer actuator constituting the open / close members 101 and 102 will be described. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the polymer actuator before voltage application, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the polymer actuator after voltage application.

  The polymer actuator bends at high speed when a predetermined voltage is applied between the first electrode layer 101b and the second electrode layer 101c formed on both surfaces of the polymer film 101a. That is, when a voltage is applied to the electrode layers 101b and 101c from the power source to form an electric field between the electrode layers 101b and 101c, positive ions that can move in the polymer film 101a are attracted to the negative electrode side by the electric field. It is done. As a result, the negative electrode side (that is, the electrode layer 101b side) of the polymer film 101a swells, and the polymer actuator bends in a circular arc shape.

  When a voltage is applied uniformly across the surface direction between the electrode layers 101b and 101c, the radius of curvature of the polymer actuator after bending becomes substantially constant. In addition, the voltage applied to the polymer actuator and the radius of curvature of the polymer actuator are generally inversely proportional. That is, the higher the applied voltage to the polymer actuator, the smaller the radius of curvature of the polymer actuator.

  In FIG. 4B, the first electrode layer 101b side on the negative electrode side is convex, and the second electrode layer 101c side on the positive electrode side is concave. The polymer actuator can be displaced in the opposite direction by changing the polarity of the applied voltage. Therefore, in the bent state shown in FIG. 4B, when a voltage is applied with the first electrode layer 101b side as the positive electrode and the second electrode layer 101c side as the negative electrode, the polymer actuator is shown in the plane shown in FIG. It can be displaced to the state. Thus, since the polymer actuator bends by the movement of ions, it is quiet without generating any sound.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the frame member 103 has two straight portions 103a and two guide portions 103b. The two linear portions 103a and the two guide portions 103b are arranged to face each other. The frame member 103 is a frame-like member, and the end portion of the straight portion 103a and the end portion of the guide portion 103b are connected.

  The guide portion 103b is formed as an arc having a diameter A. The guide portion 103b corresponds to a shape in which the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are bent. As shown in FIG. 3B, the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are displaced along the guide portion 103b when bent.

  One end of each of the opening / closing members 101 and 102 is fixed to the linear portion 103 a of the frame member 103. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing portion between the first opening / closing member 101 and the frame member 103. The fixing portions of the second opening / closing member 102 and the frame member 103 have the same configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first opening / closing member 101 is fixed to the frame member 103 by a crimping member 107 with both surfaces sandwiched between conductive plate members 105 and 106.

  The frame member 103 has a hollow shape. Inside the frame member 103, wirings 108 connected to the electrode layers 101b and 101c of the opening / closing member 101 are provided.

  The frame member 103 has an insulating layer 103c on the outside and a conductive layer 103d on the inside. The frame member 103 can be charged with a positive charge or a negative charge by applying a voltage to the conductive layer 103d.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a side wall member 104 is provided on the guide portion 103 b of the frame member 103. The side wall member 104 is provided in each of the two guide portions 103b, and the two side wall members 104 are disposed to face each other. The side wall member 104 is a semicircular plate-shaped member. The side wall member 104 has a shape corresponding to a semicircular shape having a diameter A formed by the guide portion 103b. As for the side wall member 104, the plate | board surface is arrange | positioned along the air flow direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of opening / closing members 101 and 102 are disposed to face each other. The open / close members 101 and 102 can be displaced between a planar state shown in FIG. 3A and a bent state shown in FIG.

  When the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are in the closed state shown in FIG. 3B, their tip portions overlap each other. That is, the length B of the opening and closing members 101 and 102 is longer than half of the circumference of the circumference formed by the guide portion 103b of the frame member 103, that is, 1/4 of the circumference of the diameter A.

  The opening / closing members 101 and 102 can be bent in a direction approaching each other to reduce the opening area of the air outlets 24 to 26. The opening and closing members 101 and 102 adjust the flow rate of air blown from the blowout ports 24 to 26 by adjusting the opening areas of the blowout ports 24 to 26. When the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are in the planar state shown in FIG. 3A, the air outlets 24 to 26 are opened. When the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are in the bent state shown in FIG. 3B, the air outlets 24 to 26 are closed.

  The two opening / closing members 101 and 102 may be operated at the same time, or only one of the two opening / closing members 101 and 102 may be operated. The opening and closing members 101 and 102 can be bent to an intermediate stage between the open state shown in FIG. 3A and the closed state shown in FIG.

  Here, the operation of the blowing mode doors 27 to 29 will be described. The operation of the blowout mode doors 27 to 29 is controlled by the air conditioning control device 50. The air conditioning control device 50 controls the operation of the blowing mode doors 27 to 29 based on the set blowing mode, the blowing air amount, and the like.

  The amount of displacement of the opening and closing members 101 and 102 is determined based on an applied voltage from a power supply device (not shown) controlled by the air conditioning control device 50. For this reason, the air-conditioning control device 50 controls the applied voltage from the power supply device according to the required amount of displacement, so that the opening and closing members 101 and 102 can be deformed with a desired amount of displacement.

  The two open / close members 101 and 102 are bent in a direction approaching each other by using the opposite electrode layer as a positive electrode and the opposite electrode layer as a negative electrode. The outlets 24-26 can be closed by bending the opening and closing members 101, 102 to the state shown in FIG.

  In the closed state shown in FIG. 3B, the electrode layers inside the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are positive. Therefore, when the open / close members 101 and 102 are in the closed state shown in FIG. 3B, the frame member 103 is charged to a negative charge. As a result, the opening / closing members 101 and 102 are attracted to the frame member 103.

  In the present embodiment, the timing for operating the two opening and closing members 101 and 102 is shifted. Specifically, the opening / closing members 101, 102 positioned on the inner side are bent before the opening / closing members 101, 102 positioned on the outer side when the leading ends overlap. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the second opening / closing member 102 is bent before the first opening / closing member 101.

  Thereby, when the front-end | tip parts of the two opening-and-closing members 101 and 102 overlap, the front-end | tip part of the 1st opening-and-closing member 101 is located above the front-end | tip part of the 2nd opening / closing member 102. FIG. At this time, the inside of the first opening / closing member 101 and the outside of the second opening / closing member 102 are in contact with each other.

  The electrode layer inside the first opening / closing member 101 is a positive electrode, and the electrode layer outside the second opening / closing member 102 is a negative electrode. The overlapping portions of the two opening / closing members 101 and 102 attract each other because the polarities of the electrode layers are opposite.

  Next, the air-conditioning control device 50 changes the polarity of the voltage applied from the power supply device to operate the open / close members 101 and 102 to change from the closed state shown in FIG. 3B to the open state shown in FIG. . Specifically, the inner electrode layer of the open / close members 101 and 102 is changed to a negative electrode, and the outer electrode layer is changed to a positive electrode.

  Also at this time, the timing for operating the two opening and closing members 101 and 102 is shifted. Specifically, the timing for changing the polarity of the electrode layer of the first opening / closing member 101 positioned outside is set earlier than the timing for changing the polarity of the electrode layer of the second opening / closing member 102 positioned inside. Accordingly, the electrode layer on the inner side of the first opening / closing member 101 and the second opening / closing member from when the polarity of the electrode layer of the first opening / closing member 101 is changed to when the polarity of the electrode layer of the second opening / closing member 102 is changed. The polarity of the electrode layer on the outer side of 102 becomes the same. For this reason, the first opening / closing member 101 located outside is easily separated from the second opening / closing member 102 located inside.

  When the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are shifted from the closed state shown in FIG. 3B to the opened state shown in FIG. 3A, the electrode layer inside the bent opening and closing members 101 and 102 becomes a negative electrode. For this reason, the frame member 103 is charged to a positive charge. As a result, the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are easily separated from the frame member 103.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are constituted by a pair of polymer actuators, so that the opening and closing members 101 and 102 can be reduced in size while ensuring the opening areas of the air outlets 24 to 27. Can do.

  For example, in the configuration in which the opening and closing member is one polymer actuator, the outlets 24 to 27 are closed in a bent state, and the outlets 24 to 27 are opened in a planar state, the length B in the air flow direction is a circle having a diameter A. More than half of the circumference is required. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the length B in the air flow direction of the opening and closing members 101 and 102 may be ¼ or more of the circumference of the diameter A.

  Further, in the configuration in which the opening / closing member is one polymer actuator, the outlets 24 to 27 are closed in a planar state, and the outlets 24 to 27 are opened in a bent state, the bent outlets 24 to 27 are formed by the bent polymer actuator. The opening area is reduced. On the other hand, according to the opening and closing members 101 and 102 of the present embodiment, the opening area of the air outlets 24 to 27 can be made 100%.

  In the present embodiment, the length B of the pair of opening and closing members 101 and 102 in the air flow direction is longer than ¼ of the circumference of the diameter A. For this reason, when it is set as the closed state shown in FIG.3 (b), the front-end | tip part of a pair of opening-and-closing member 101,102 overlaps. Thereby, the outlets 24-26 can be reliably closed by the pair of opening and closing members 101, 102. Further, when the polymer actuator is used, the radius of curvature increases. Therefore, by increasing the length B of the opening / closing members 101, 102 in the air flow direction, the opening / closing members 101, 102 can function as doors for closing the air outlets 24-26 over a long period of time.

  In this embodiment, the guide part 103b corresponding to the shape in which the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are bent is provided. Thereby, since the opening and closing members 101 and 102 bend along the guide portion 103b, air leakage can be reduced at the time of closing shown in FIG. Further, since the two opening / closing members 102 and 102 always overlap at the same position by the guide portion 103b, the reliability at the time of closing is improved.

  In this embodiment, the side wall member 104 is provided on the concave side of the guide portion 103b. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the air shielded by the opening and closing members 101 and 102 from leaking sideways when closed as shown in FIG. As a result, the closing effect of the air outlets 24 to 26 by the opening and closing members 101 and 102 can be enhanced.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only different parts will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the air mix door 30 is arranged across the heating cold air passage 18 and the cold air bypass passage 19. As shown in FIG. 7, the air mix door 30 is provided with a plurality of air flow adjusting devices 100.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of air flow control devices 100 are arranged in two intersecting directions. The plurality of air flow control devices 100 are arranged in a matrix (that is, a lattice). In the example shown in FIG. 7, a total of 25 (= 5 × 5) air flow control devices 100 are provided. The plurality of air flow control devices 100 constituting the air mix door 30 can be individually controlled to open and close by the air conditioning control device 50.

  The air flow adjusting device 100 includes a pair of opening and closing members 101 and 102, a frame member 103, a side wall member 104, and the like. Each air flow adjusting device 100 constituting the air mix door 30 has the same configuration as the air flow adjusting device 100 constituting the blowing mode doors 27 to 29 described in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the air mix door 30 is provided with five gate bus lines 109 and ten source bus lines 110. Although not shown, one common ground line is provided.

  The five gate bus lines 109 are arranged in parallel. The ten source bus lines 110 are arranged in parallel. The gate bus lines 109 and the source bus lines 110 are provided in a matrix so as to intersect. A transistor 111 is provided at a portion where the gate bus line 109 and the source bus line 110 intersect. The gate bus line 109, the source bus line 110, and the transistor 111 are disposed in a hollow portion of the frame member 102.

  The gate of the transistor 111 is connected to the gate bus line 109, and the source of the transistor 111 is connected to the source bus line 110. The transistor 109 is provided corresponding to the opening / closing members 101 and 102 of the air flow adjusting device 100. Power is supplied from the transistor 109 to the open / close members 101 and 102.

  A gate signal is output to the gate bus line 109 from a gate drive circuit (not shown). The source bus line 110 outputs a source signal from a source driving circuit (not shown). The open / close members 101 and 102 corresponding to the transistors 111 connected to the bus lines 109 and 110 to which the signals are output operate. Thereby, the specific opening / closing members 101 and 102 can be selected and operated. These gate drive circuit and source drive circuit are controlled by the air conditioning controller 50.

  According to the second embodiment described above, the open / close space of the air mix door 30 can be reduced in size by configuring the air mix door 30 from the plurality of air flow adjusting devices 100. For example, when the air mix door 30 is configured by 5 × 5 air flow adjustment devices 100, the opening and closing member 101, compared to the case where the air mix door 30 is configured by one air flow adjustment device 100, The size of 102 can be reduced to 1/5.

  Moreover, the air flow rate can be finely controlled by selectively opening and closing the plurality of air flow control devices 100. In the example shown in FIG. 7, since 25 air flow adjusting devices 100 are provided, the air flow rate can be adjusted in 25 stages. In this way, in the air mix door 22 having the rotating shaft shown in FIG. 1, when controlling a small amount of warm air or cool air, the opening angle of the air mix door and the air flow rate are not proportional, and therefore, nonlinear and fine control is necessary. However, in the air mix door 30 of FIG. 6, since the air flow rate is controlled by the number of doors opened, linear control can be performed and temperature controllability is improved.

  Further, by providing the transistors 111 corresponding to the individual opening / closing members 101 and 102, the number of wirings necessary for the operation of the opening / closing members 101 and 102 can be greatly reduced. In the case where the transistor 111 is not used, for the 50 open / close members 101 and 102, 51 wires including the wires to the open / close members 101 and 102 and the common ground line are required. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present embodiment, a total of 16 wirings including 5 gate bus lines 109 + 10 source bus lines 110 + one ground line (not shown) may be used.

  In addition, by setting the polymer actuator constituting the open / close members 101 and 102 corresponding to the transistor 111 to a sufficiently large capacity, the operation time of the open / close members 101 and 102 can be extended.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be appropriately changed within the scope described in the claims.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, an ion conductive polymer actuator in which positive ions move in response to an electric field has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and negative ions move in response to an electric field, or positive ions and negative ions. The present invention may be applied to an ion conductive polymer actuator in which both move.

  In each of the above embodiments, the air flow adjusting device of the present invention is applied to the blow-out mode doors 27 to 29 and the air mix door 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the air flow adjusting device of the present invention is used as an inside / outside air switching door or the like. You may apply. Or when the seat air conditioner which blows off the conditioned wind supplied from the vehicle air conditioner 1 from the surface of a vehicle seat is provided, you may apply the air flow control apparatus of this invention to a seat air conditioner.

  In each of the above embodiments, the opening / closing members 101, 102 are arranged toward the downstream side of the air flow. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening / closing members 101, 102 are arranged toward the upstream side of the air flow. May be. According to this configuration, when the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are in the closed state, the opening and closing members 101 and 102 are pressed against the guide portion 103b by the air flow. For this reason, the air leak at the time of making the opening-and-closing members 101 and 102 into a closed state can be decreased more.

  In each of the above embodiments, the air flow amount is adjusted by the air flow adjusting device 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the air flow direction may be adjusted by the air flow adjusting device 100. .

  Moreover, although each said embodiment demonstrated air flow adjustment of the vehicle air conditioner, it can also be used for the air flow adjustment mechanism in which volume is reduced or silence is calculated | required.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Casing 27-29 Blow mode door 22, 30 Air mix door 100 Air flow control apparatus 101, 102 Opening / closing member 101a Polymer film 101b, 101c Electrode layer 103 Frame member 103b Guide part 104 Side wall part 109 Transistor

Claims (11)

A pair of polymer actuators (101, 102) provided in an air passage (10) through which air flows and having a polymer membrane (101a) having ion conductivity between two electrode layers (101b, 101c) With
The pair of polymer actuators are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval,
The polymer actuator is displaced based on voltage application to the electrode layer to adjust the flow of air in the air passage ,
The pair of polymer actuators can be at least partially overlapped by being displaced so as to approach each other,
Air flow adjustment in which the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrode layer of one polymer actuator and the electrode layer of the other polymer actuator opposite to each other are different in the region where the pair of polymer actuators overlap apparatus. A guide portion (103) having a shape corresponding to the displacement of the polymer actuator;
The air flow adjusting device according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer actuator is displaced along the guide portion. A pair of polymer actuators (101, 102) provided in an air passage (10) through which air flows and having a polymer membrane (101a) having ion conductivity between two electrode layers (101b, 101c) With
The pair of polymer actuators are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval,
The polymer actuator is displaced based on voltage application to the electrode layer to adjust the flow of air in the air passage ,
A guide portion (103) having a shape corresponding to the displacement of the polymer actuator;
The polymer actuator is an air flow adjusting device that is displaced along the guide portion . The air flow adjusting device according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the wiring connected to the electrode layer of the polymer actuator is provided along the guide portion. The air flow adjusting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a plurality of pairs of the pair of polymer actuators are provided. The air flow adjusting device according to claim 5 , wherein a plurality of pairs of the pair of polymer actuators are arranged in a matrix. Each of the polymer actuators includes a transistor (111) for applying a voltage to the electrode layer,
The air flow adjusting device according to claim 6 , wherein wirings of the polymer actuator are arranged in a matrix. A pair of polymer actuators (101, 102) provided in an air passage (10) through which air flows and having a polymer membrane (101a) having ion conductivity between two electrode layers (101b, 101c) With
The pair of polymer actuators are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval,
The polymer actuator is displaced based on voltage application to the electrode layer to adjust the flow of air in the air passage ,
A plurality of pairs of the polymer actuators are provided,
A plurality of pairs of the polymer actuators are arranged in a matrix,
Each of the polymer actuators includes a transistor (111) for applying a voltage to the electrode layer,
An air flow adjusting device in which wirings of the polymer actuator are arranged in a matrix . At least one of the pair of the polymer actuators that displaced so as to approach the other, according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to reduce the passage area of the air passing between the pair of polymer actuator Air flow control device. In the air passage, conditioned air blown out from the air outlet (24 to 26) flows,
The air flow adjusting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the pair of polymer actuators adjust a flow of conditioned air blown from the blower outlet. The air passage is provided with a heating part (21) for heating conditioned air and a bypass passage (19) for bypassing the conditioned air with the heating part,
The air according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the pair of polymer actuators adjust a flow rate ratio between the conditioned air passing through the heating unit and the conditioned air passing through the bypass passage (19). Flow regulator.

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