JPH0338502B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a wind direction switching device disposed in the air path of an air conditioner or the like to change the wind direction. This invention relates to a wind direction switching device using a shape memory alloy that changes shape by sensing the temperature of the air blowing out.

Structure of conventional example and its problems As a conventional wind direction switching device using a shape memory alloy (hereinafter referred to as SMA), devices as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 have been considered. FIG. 1 is an example of a conventional example, and FIG. 2 is another conventional example. In Figure 1, a is an automatic wind direction switching device using SMA that is installed in the air path of an air conditioner or heater. wing b as wing, wing b
a rotating shaft c, an operating rod e that protrudes rearward from one end of the wing b and has an aperture d partially hollowed out in an oval shape, and a guide rod f that passes through the aperture d.
It also includes a coil spring g made of SMA which is arranged to surround the guide rod f and actuate the actuating rod e, and a bias coil spring h which is provided in opposition to the coil spring g. The two coil springs g and h are disposed above and below the operating rod e, and have operating protrusions i and j at the tips of the springs, respectively, that slide closely against the operating rod e.

Further, the guide rod f is fixed to a frame m having fixing points k and l at the top and bottom, and the frame m is attached to a side wall of the air conditioner or the like with screws n or the like.

Because of the above configuration, when the SMA coil spring g is heated by hot air during heating operation and reaches a transformation temperature (approximately 30 degrees Celsius) or higher, it generates a large force and stretches, causing the bias coil spring h that is in contact with it to elongate. The coil spring h
is compressed and the operating rod e is pushed up, and as a result, the wing b is rotated about the rotation axis c, and the wing b is tilted forward and downward as shown by the chain line in FIG. Therefore, the hot air is blown out downward as indicated by the dashed arrow. However, during heating operation, the temperature of hot air may drop due to a decrease in heating capacity, or the temperature of hot air may drop due to cooling operation.
When the SMA coil spring g becomes below the transformation temperature,
Due to the repulsive force of the compressed bias spring h,
The SMA coil spring g contracts, and as a result, the wing b tilts forward and downward as shown by the solid line in Figure 1, and cold air blows upward. Here, in the above configuration, the behavior characteristics when the SMA coil spring g is heated and cooled by wind will be explained. When heated by hot air, the SMA coil spring g starts to expand at a temperature T _A above the transformation point, but as this coil spring g stretches, the bias coil spring h that is in contact with it gradually becomes compressed and the repulsive force increases. . Therefore, as the temperature rises, the SMA coil spring g is restrained from elongating. In addition, when the stretched SMA coil spring g becomes below the transformation temperature due to a decrease in heating capacity or cooling operation, it is pushed back by the large force of the compressed bias spring h.
Its power gradually decreases. Therefore, the SMA
The elongation of the manufactured coil spring g with respect to temperature was as shown by curve A shown in FIG. 4, and the amount of change in elongation ΔL with respect to temperature rise ΔT was small. In other words,
The drawback was poor temperature response.

Further, when explaining another conventional example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, all the same parts as in the above-mentioned conventional example are indicated by the same symbols. The difference is that a weight o is used instead of the bias spring h shown in FIG. Since the weight o was used, the load applied to the SMA coil spring g was constant and unbearable, and at a temperature T _B above the transformation point, the above
Since the elongation of the SMA coil spring g is not suppressed as much as when using the bias spring h described above, the elongation of the SMA coil spring g with respect to temperature in this case is as shown by curve B in Figure 4, and the temperature rise is lower than that of the conventional example described above. The amount of change in elongation ΔL with respect to ΔT is large (if the slope a=ΔL/ΔT, then a is large). However, the gradient a in the high temperature section is as small as before, and the temperature response is poor overall.

Purpose of the Invention Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, increases the amount of extension ΔL of the SMA coil spring with respect to the temperature rise ΔT, and provides automatic wind direction switching with excellent temperature responsiveness that moves the wing and changes the wind direction in a short time. The purpose is to provide equipment.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, a coil spring made of SMA for driving is arranged at one end of the variable blade so that the variable blade placed in the air path can be moved up and down at a predetermined temperature, and the load applied to this coil spring is A weight whose distance from the rotary axis of the variable blade can be adjusted so that the distance decreases as the temperature of the wind increases, and an SMA coil spring for moving the weight that automatically moves the weight according to the temperature of the wind. As the temperature of the wind increases, the weight moves to shorten the distance from the rotating shaft of the variable blade, thereby reducing the load applied to the SMA coil spring for driving the variable blade. For driving
The extension of the SMA coil spring is promoted, and as a result, the variable blades can be moved in a short period of time to quickly change the wind direction.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 5 to 8, 1 is a ceiling-mounted heat pump type air conditioner, 2 is the indoor unit main body, 3 is an inlet formed on the back of the main body 2, 4 is a fan, 5 is a heat exchanger, 6 is a heater that is energized during heating, 7 is an air outlet formed on the front surface of the main body 2, and 8 is an automatic wind direction switching device provided within this air outlet 7. Reference numeral 9 denotes a variable blade provided over the entire width of the air outlet 7, and both ends of its rotating shaft 9' are rotatably fixed to the side wall 2' of the main body 2.

An actuating lever 10 is fixedly extended from one rear end of the variable blade 9, and an L-shaped balance rod 11 is further fixedly extended from the tip thereof. An elliptical opening 12 is bored in a part of the actuation lever 10, and a hole 12 is provided in the balance rod 11 so as to surround the balance rod 11 between two stoppers 13 and 14. It has a coil spring 15 made of SMA and a weight 16 that slides on the balance rod 11 using the coil spring 15. A guide rod 17 passes through the opening 12 of the operating lever 10, and the guide rod 17 is fixed to a frame 20 having fixing points 18 and 19 at the top and bottom.
is attached to the side wall 2' of the air conditioner with screws 21 or the like.

Then, surrounding the guide rod 17, the SMA
A coil spring 22 made of . Here, in order to distinguish between the two SMA coil springs 15 and 22,
The former is an SMA coil spring 1 for moving the weight.
5. The latter is a variable blade drive SMA coil spring 22
I will call it.

With the above configuration, the ceiling-mounted heat pump air conditioner 1 is operated for heating to maintain a constant temperature (approximately
When hot air (40~60℃) is blown out, the two SMA coil springs 15, which were initially contracted as shown in Figure 6,
22 are heated to a temperature higher than the transformation temperature (approximately 30 to 40°C), they extend in the direction of the arrows as shown in Fig. 7, and the variable blades 9 are tilted forward and downward, so that the hot air flows as shown in Fig. 5. It is blown out downward as shown by the dashed arrow. Then, when the heating operation is stopped or the cooling operation is performed, the two SMA coil springs 15 and 22
are cooled below their transformation temperature (approximately 30 to 40°C), so they contract in the direction of the arrows in Figure 7 and become as shown in Figure 6.The variable blades 9 are tilted forward and upward, so the cold air flows into the 5th direction. It is blown upward as shown by the solid arrow in the figure.

Here, the response speed of wind direction switching in the automatic wind direction switching device of the present invention and the two conventional examples described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
In FIG. 9, curves A and B show the behavior characteristics of the SMA coil spring g that drives the variable blade b using the conventional bias spring h and the weight o, as described above. Curve C shows the behavior characteristics of the SMA coil spring 22 for variable blade drive when the SMA coil spring 15 for moving a weight according to the present invention is used. As is clear from this figure, curve C has the largest slope a=ΔL/ΔT, indicating that it has excellent temperature responsiveness. This is the case for each drive SMA in the two conventional examples and the one of the present invention.
This is because the force F applied to the manufactured coil spring is different as shown in FIG. Straight line in Figure 10
A' and B' are for the conventional example, and straight line C' is for the present invention. In other words, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 1 mentioned above, the repulsive force of the bias spring h is used for driving.
Since it increases as the SMA coil spring g expands, F increases as the temperature rises, as shown by straight line A'. As a result, the drive SMA coil spring g
Since elongation is extremely suppressed, curve A shows a small elongation with a slope a=ΔL/ΔT.
Therefore, the response speed of wind direction switching is the slowest. On the other hand, in the second conventional example shown in Fig. 2, a constant load is constantly applied by the weight o to the driving SMA coil spring g, as indicated by the straight line B' in Fig. 10, regardless of temperature changes. As shown in Figure 9 curve B, the first
Although the slope is larger than that of the conventional example, it still exhibits elongation with a smaller slope than that of the present invention (particularly in the high temperature section). Therefore, the response speed of wind direction switching is slower than that of the present invention. However, in the present invention, the weight 16
By using the SMA coil spring 15 for moving the weight 16, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the driving SMA coil spring 22 is heated to a temperature above the transformation point.
When it starts to stretch at T _C , the weight moving SMA coil spring 15 also stretches at almost the same temperature, and the weight 16 slides on the balance rod 11, causing the rotation axis of the variable blade 9 to increase as the temperature rises. Move it so that the distance from 9' becomes shorter. At this time, the relationship between the force F applied to the driving SMA coil spring 22 and the temperature T is such that as the temperature rises, the force F decreases as shown by a straight line C' shown in FIG. As a result, the suppressing force of the driving SMA coil spring 22 decreases as the temperature rises, so that it exhibits elongation with a steeper slope than the two prior art examples, as shown by curve C in FIG. 9. Therefore, since the variable blades 9 move quickly, the response speed for changing the wind direction is faster than in the past.

As described above, by using the weight 16 and the SMA coil spring 15 for moving the weight, the load applied to the variable blade drive SMA coil spring 22 is reduced to a temperature higher than the transformation temperature as shown by the straight line C' in FIG. It becomes smaller as it rises, so it can be used for variable blade drive as in the past.
The elongation of the SMA coil spring is rarely suppressed, and therefore shows elongation with a large slope as shown by curve C in FIG. Therefore, during heating operation, the variable blades 9 are quickly tilted forward and downward by warm air, and the fifth
The wind blows downward as shown by the broken line in the diagram. In addition, when the temperature of the hot air drops due to a decrease in heating capacity or the stoppage of heating operation during heating operation, or when the two coil springs 15 and 22 are cooled to below the transformation point due to cooling operation, the above-mentioned For this reason, a large load is applied to the SMA coil spring 22 for driving the variable blade, and as a result, the coil spring 22 quickly contracts, causing the variable blade 9 to quickly tilt forward and upward, blowing out cold air upward as shown by the solid line in Figure 5.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an automatic wind direction switching device that has better response speed than the conventional one.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the automatic wind direction switching device of the present invention includes a rotatable variable blade that is arranged in the air path of an air conditioner or the like and changes the wind direction, and one end of the variable blade. A more protruding operating rod, a weight provided on the operating rod, and a rotary shaft provided between the rotary shaft of the variable blade and the weight so as to act on the operating rod, and sensing the temperature of the wind to control the variable speed. A coil spring made of a shape-memory alloy that operates the blade, and another shape-memory device configured to automatically adjust the distance of the weight from the rotation axis of the variable blade to the operating rod according to the temperature of the wind. Since it is composed of an alloy coil spring, the variable blade drive coil spring quickly expands when heated and quickly contracts when cooled, operating the variable blades, making it possible to quickly switch the wind direction at a predetermined temperature. , it is possible to provide an automatic wind direction switching device with superior response speed than the conventional one.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view of a conventional automatic wind direction switching device, Fig. 2 is another conventional automatic wind direction switching device, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line -' in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is two conventional examples. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner equipped with an automatic wind direction switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 6 and 7 show the variable blades of the same device. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-' in FIG. 9, and FIG. 9 is a side view showing the operation of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram comparing the behavior of two conventional examples of variable blade driving coil springs, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the force and temperature applied to the variable blade driving coil springs of the present invention and two conventional examples. 9... Variable blade, 15... Shape memory alloy coil spring for moving weight, 16... Weight, 22... Shape memory alloy coil spring for driving variable blade.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable variable blade disposed in an air path to change the wind direction, an operating rod protruding from one end of the variable blade, a weight provided on the operating rod, and a rotation axis of the variable blade. and a coil spring made of a shape memory alloy, which is provided between the weight to act on the operating rod and which operates the variable blade by sensing the temperature of the wind; An automatic wind direction switching device comprised of another coil spring made of a shape memory alloy, which is equipped to automatically adjust the distance from the rotation axis according to the temperature of the wind.