Viscous fluid type heat generators

• US 5,788,151 A
• Filed: 10/07/1997
• Issued: 08/04/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Sato, Tsutomu, Kitani, Fumihiko, Moroi, Takahiro, Ban, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Henry A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOLES, DEREK
• Application Number:
  US08/946,264
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 237/12.3 R, 237/12.3 B, 122/26, 126/247
• US Class Current: 237/12.30R
• CPC Class Codes: F24V 40/00 Production or use of heat resulting from internal friction of moving fluids or from friction between fluids and moving bodies

Abstract

A viscous fluid type heat generator includes a housing assembly defining a heat generating chamber and a heat receiving chamber for permitting a heat exchanging fluid to circulate therethrough to receive heat from the heat generating chamber. A rotor element is supported by the housing assembly separately from the drive shaft to be rotationally driven by the drive shaft for rotation within the heat generating chamber. A viscous fluid is held in a gap defined between the inner wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber and the outer faces of the rotor element, for heat generation under a shearing stress applied by the rotation of the rotor element. Frictional coupling means are provided for frictionally coupling the drive shaft with the rotor element and for mechanically transmitting a rotation of the drive shaft to the rotor element to permit the rotor element to rotate in the heat generating chamber at a speed not higher than a predetermined thermal limit speed. If the rotation speed of the rotor element 22 exceeds the predetermined thermal limit speed, the viscous fluid could generate excessive heat, which would probably accelerate the thermal degradation of the viscous fluid.

Claims

1. A viscous fluid type heat generator comprising:

a housing assembly defining therein a heat generating chamber in which heat is generated, and a heat receiving chamber arranged adjacent to said heat generating chamber for permitting a heat exchanging fluid to circulate through said heat receiving chamber to thereby receive heat from said heat generating chamber, said heat generating chamber having inner wall surfaces thereof;

a drive shaft supported by said housing assembly to be rotatable about an axis of rotation of said drive shaft, said drive shaft being operationally connected to an external rotation-drive source;

a rotor element supported by said housing assembly separately from said drive shaft to be rotationally driven by said drive shaft for rotation within said heat generating chamber, said rotor element having outer faces confronting said inner wall surfaces of said heat generating chamber via a predetermined gap defined therebetween;

a viscous fluid, held in said gap defined between said inner wall surfaces of said heat generating chamber of said housing assembly and said outer faces of said rotor element, for heat generation under a shearing stress applied by the rotation of said rotor element; and

frictional coupling means for frictionally coupling said drive shaft with said rotor element and for mechanically transmitting a rotation of said drive shaft to said rotor element to permit said rotor element to rotate in said heat generating chamber at a speed not higher than a predetermined thermal limit speed.

2. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 1, wherein said frictional coupling means permits said rotor element to rotate together with said drive shaft at substantially a rotation speed of said drive shaft when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element is not larger than a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said frictional coupling means to said rotor element.

3. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 1, wherein said frictional coupling means permits said rotor element to rotate at a speed lower than a rotation speed of said drive shaft in a state where said frictional coupling means frictionally slide on said rotor element when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element exceeds a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said frictional coupling means to said rotor element.

4. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 2, wherein said predetermined maximum torque substantially corresponds to a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element rotating at said predetermined thermal limit speed.

5. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 1, wherein said rotor element is provided with an axle member axially oppositely extending from said rotor element along a rotation axis of said rotor element, said axle member being coaxially arranged with said drive shaft.

6. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 5, wherein said frictional coupling means comprises a spring coil element having a first end fixed to said drive shaft and an opposed second end frictionally engaged with said axle member with a radially inner surface of said spring coil element being in close contact with the outer circumferential surface of said axle member.

7. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 6, wherein said spring coil element permits said rotor element to rotate together with said drive shaft at substantially a rotation speed of said drive shaft when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element is not larger than a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said spring coil element to said axle member.

8. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 6, wherein said spring coil element permits said rotor element to rotate at a speed lower than a rotation speed of said drive shaft in a state where said spring coil element frictionally slides on said axle member when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element exceeds a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said spring coil element to said axle member.

9. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 7, wherein said predetermined maximum torque substantially corresponds to a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element rotating at said predetermined thermal limit speed.

10. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 5, wherein said frictional coupling means comprises a plurality of frictional coupling members, each of which is supported on said drive shaft for radial movement and has a radially inner surface capable of coming into contact with an outer circumferential surface of said axle member, and biasing means for biasing said frictional coupling members to bring said inner surface of each frictional coupling member into contact with said outer circumferential surface of said axle member.

11. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 10, wherein said frictional coupling members permit said rotor element to rotate together with said drive shaft at substantially a rotation speed of said drive shaft when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element is not larger than a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said frictional coupling members to said axle member.

12. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 11, further comprising friction enhancing means provided on at least one of said radially inner surface of each frictional coupling member and said outer circumferential surface of said axle member.

13. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 10, wherein said frictional coupling members permit said rotor element to rotate at a speed lower than a rotation speed of said drive shaft in a state where said frictional coupling members frictionally slide on said axle member when a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element exceeds a predetermined maximum torque transmittable by said frictional coupling members to said axle member.

14. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 11, wherein said predetermined maximum torque substantially corresponds to a fluidic friction torque exerted by said viscous fluid onto said rotor element rotating at said predetermined thermal limit speed.

15. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 10, wherein said biasing means is a spring capable of maintaining said frictional coupling members in contact with said outer circumferential surface of said axle member when said drive shaft rotates at a speed not higher than a predetermined level associated with said predetermined maximum torque.

16. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 15, wherein said biasing means includes a plurality of extension springs arranged between mutually adjacent said frictional coupling members.

17. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 5, wherein said axle member includes a section extending away from said drive shaft, said section being rotationally supported in a cantilever fashion by a bearing mounted on said housing assembly.

18. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 17, wherein said bearing is mounted on said housing assembly in an axially shiftable manner, and wherein a locating spring is arranged between said bearing and said housing assembly for locating said rotor element at a proper position to define said predetermined gap in said heat generating chamber by biasing said bearing in such a direction that an axial end face of said axle member comes into contact with a confronting axial end faces said drive shaft.

19. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 18, wherein at least one of said axial end faces said axle member and said confronting axial end face of said drive shaft is provided with a protrusion for reducing kinetic friction between these axial end faces.

20. The viscous fluid type heat generator of claim 17, wherein said bearing is mounted on said housing assembly in a fixed manner, and wherein said rotor element is located at a proper position to define said predetermined gap in said heat generating chamber by said bearing independently of a mutual contact between an axial end face of said axle member and a confronting axial end face of said drive shaft.