JP2000168341A - Air passage opening/closing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely perform initializing of a film-like member position, by setting the initial position of the film-like member in a state that it is wound to a drive shaft side. SOLUTION: A blow mode switching film-like member 16 is moved by winding its one end side to a drive shaft 14 by rotating force of a step motor 18. Relating to this operation, when one end side of the film-like member 16 is rewound by rotating the step motor 18 in the reverse direction to rotate the drive shaft 14 in the reverse direction, force in the wind fastening direction acting in a coil spring 24 disappears, so as to wind back the coil spring 24 by its self spring tension. For moving the film-like member 16 to a prescribed position by using the step motor 18, initialization of a film-like member position is required. Here, the initialized position of the film-like member 16 is set in a condition that it is wound to a side of the drive shaft 14. In this way, the film-like member position can easily and surely be initialized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air passage opening / closing apparatus for opening and closing an air passage by moving a film member (film door) having an opening through which air passes in the air passage. The present invention relates to the initialization of the position of the film-shaped member, and is suitable for use in, for example, a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-87826 discloses a system in which a film-like member is moved by a spring force of a motor and elastic means. According to this conventional technique, when the film member is wound around the drive shaft, the drive shaft (first rotation shaft) is rotated in the forward direction by the driving force of the motor, so that one end of the film member is formed on the drive shaft. And the other end of the film-shaped member is rewound from the driven shaft (second rotating shaft) to rotate the driven shaft. With the rotation of the driven shaft, the elastic means (coil spring or the like) is elastically deformed to increase the spring force.

On the other hand, when the film-like member is wound around a driven shaft (second rotating shaft), the drive shaft is rotated in the reverse direction by the driving force of a motor, so that the film-like member is separated from the drive shaft. The film is rewound (sent out), and the driven member is rotated by the spring force of the elastic means to wind the film-like member around the driven member.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the driving motor for the driving shaft is merely described as a servomotor, but no use of a stepping motor is disclosed. Since the rotation amount of the step motor is uniquely defined by the number of steps of the input pulse, the movement position of the film member (motor rotation position) is detected by position detecting means such as a potentiometer, and the rotation amount of the motor is fed back. No need to control. There is an advantage that the configuration of the film member driving mechanism can be simplified by eliminating the position detecting means.

On the other hand, in order to move the film-like member to a predetermined position by the number of steps of the input pulse by using a step motor as a driving means of the film-like member, the number of steps of the input pulse of the step motor = 0. It is necessary to set the film-like member position (motor rotation position) to a specific position in advance, that is, it is necessary to initialize (initialize) the film-like member position.

Therefore, in the present invention, the air passage is opened and closed by the movement of the film member as described above, and the movement of the film member in one direction is performed by the rotational force of the driving means.
The membrane member is moved in the other direction by the spring force of the elastic means, and is an air passage switching device. In addition, as the driving means, a driving means such as a step motor which needs to initialize the position of the membrane member is used. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily and reliably initialize the position of a film-like member.

[0007]

First, a technical point of view according to the present invention for achieving the above object will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 (a) shows that the drive shaft (14) is turned clockwise (A).
A state in which the film-shaped member (16) is moved in the direction by being rotated by the step motor (18) (see FIGS. 1 to 3), and the film-shaped member (16) is wound around the drive shaft (14). ing. In the state of FIG. 4A, the elastic means (24) (see FIGS. 1 to 3) connected to the driven shaft (15) is tightly wound and stores the spring force.

Then, from the state shown in FIG. 4A, the drive shaft (14) is rotated in the opposite direction, that is, counterclockwise (B), and the film member (16) is rewound from the drive shaft (14) ( The film-like member (16) moves in the direction, so that the driven shaft (15) rotates counterclockwise (B) by the spring force of the elastic means (24), and the film-shaped member (16) moves on the driven shaft (15). The member (16) is wound.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the rewinding (feeding) of the film-like member (16) from the drive shaft (14) is completed, this time, as shown in FIG. By continuing the rotation in the counterclockwise direction (B) in (14), the drive shaft (14) starts winding the film-like member (16) in a direction opposite to the winding direction in FIG. That is, the film-like member (1)
The moving direction of 6) is reversed from the direction to the direction, the film-like member (16) is rewound from the driven shaft (15), and the reverse winding on the drive shaft (14) is started.

Therefore, on the driven shaft (15) side, the film-like member (16) is structurally locked (the position of the film-like member is fixed).
The state does not occur, and the reversal of the moving direction (reversal from direction to direction) of the film-like member (16) occurs.
As a result, the position of the film-like member cannot be properly initialized on the driven shaft (15) side. On the other hand, on the drive shaft (14) side, when the state shown in FIG.
4) Continue to rotate clockwise (A) to the driven shaft (15)
When the rewinding of the film-like member (16) is completed, the movement in the direction of the film-like member (16) is completed, and the drive shaft (1) is moved.
4) The rotation is locked. This state corresponds to the drive shaft (14).
This completes the winding of the film-like member (16).

Thus, on the drive shaft (14) side, with the completion of the winding of the film-like member (16), the drive shaft (14)
Is locked, the position of the film-like member can be easily and reliably initialized. Therefore, claim 1
The invention described in any one of the first to third aspects is characterized in that the initial position of the film-like member (16) is set in a state where the film-like member (16) is wound around the drive shaft (14). The above object is achieved.

According to this, not only the effect that the initialization of the film-like member can be easily and reliably performed can be exhibited, but also the following advantages are provided. That is, the driven shaft (1
When the position of the membrane member is to be initialized on the 5) side, FIG.
(D) occurs, and the winding direction of the film-like member (16) is reversed on the drive shaft (14) side. Although the member may be damaged, according to the present invention, the film-like member (1)
Since the position of the film-like member can be initialized without reversing the winding direction of 6), the problem of damage to the film-like member can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the film-like member (1)
When the necessary condition for the initial position setting of 6) is determined, the drive shaft (14) is driven to rotate by the motor (18), and the film-like member (16) is wound around the drive shaft (14). And a control means (26) for automatically setting an initial position of the film-like member (16).
According to this, the necessary condition for setting the initial position of the film member (16) can be determined, and the initial position of the film member (16) can be automatically set.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the motor (18)
In a case where a stepping motor whose rotation amount is defined by the number of steps of an input pulse is used, the present invention can be suitably implemented. The reference numerals in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiment described later.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an air conditioner for a vehicle. The air conditioner for a vehicle in the present embodiment has a resin case 10. It forms an air passage of the device, and is installed, for example, inside a central portion of the instrument panel in the vehicle width (left / right) direction.

Then, blast air from a blast unit (not shown) flows into the case 10, and an evaporator (cooling heat exchanger), a heater core (heating heat exchanger) and the like (not shown) in the case 10 are provided. After the heat is exchanged with the heat exchanger and the temperature is adjusted, air is blown from a plurality of blowout openings 11 to 13 provided at the downstream end of the case 10 toward a predetermined place in the vehicle compartment. I have.

As the blowout opening, specifically, a defroster opening 11 for blowing out conditioned air toward the inside of the vehicle interior windshield, a face opening 12 for blowing out conditioned air toward the occupant's upper body, A foot opening 13 for blowing conditioned air toward the foot of the occupant is provided. A drive shaft (first rotation shaft) 1 is provided in the case 10.
4 and a driven shaft (second rotating shaft) 15 are rotatably supported by the case 10. The drive shaft 14 and the driven shaft 15 are each provided with a flexible member, specifically, a blow-off mode switching film-like member 16 made of a resin film member having excellent flexibility and strength like polyethylene resin. Both ends are fixed and wound. A plurality of openings 16a for allowing air to pass therethrough are formed in the blowing mode switching film-like member 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, an intermediate guide shaft 17 is disposed at an intermediate portion between the drive shaft 14 and the driven shaft 15, and the intermediate guide shaft 17 extends along the inner wall surface of the case 10. The movement of the blow-out mode switching film-like member 16 is guided by bending the blow-out mode switching film-like member 16. The intermediate guide shaft 17 is provided with the blowing mode switching film member 16.
In this example, the intermediate guide shaft 17 may be made rotatable in order to make the movement of the case smooth.
As a non-rotatable configuration fixed to the device, cost is reduced.

The film member 16 for switching the blowing mode
Is provided in a state in which a constant tension is applied by the drive shaft 14, the intermediate guide shaft 17, and the driven shaft 15 so as to oppose the air upstream side wall surfaces of the blowout openings 11 to 13, and It is designed to move along. The drive shaft 14 is a step motor (drive means) shown in FIG.
18 is driven to rotate. The blow-off mode switching film-shaped member 16 is rotated by the step motor 18 in both forward and reverse directions to stop the film-shaped member 16 (that is, the opening 16a) at an arbitrary position. By switching between communication and blocking between 16a and each of the blowout openings 11 to 13, the blowout mode is switched.

Next, the specific structure of the drive mechanism for the blow-out mode switching film member 16 will be described in detail. Drive shaft 1
4 and the driven shaft 15 are both made of resin.
Both ends of the blow-off mode switching film-like member 16 are fixed to 15 by, for example, appropriate means such as pinching. Drive shaft 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a normal shaft shape having no hollow portion as shown in FIG. A small-diameter shaft portion 14 a is formed at one end of the drive shaft 14, and the small-diameter shaft portion 14 a
It is supported rotatably. A connection hole 14b having a D-shaped cross section is formed at the other end of the drive shaft 14, and an insertion portion 20a having a D-shaped cross section of a shaft holding member (bushing) 20 made of resin is fitted into the connection hole 14b. Then, the shaft holding member 20 and the drive shaft 14 are integrally connected in the rotation direction.

The shaft portion 20b of the shaft pressing member 20 is the case 1
0, and is rotatably fitted into and supported in the bearing hole 21 of the "0". That is, by assembling the shaft holding member 20 to the drive shaft 14 and the case 10, the other end of the drive shaft 14 is rotatably supported by the bearing hole 21 via the shaft holding member 20. The shaft holding member 20 has a circular main body 20 c disposed outside the case 10.
The insertion part 20a and the shaft part 20b described above are integrally formed of resin.

The output shaft 18a of the step motor 18 is connected to a main body 20c of the shaft holding member 20 which is arranged outside the case 10. As described above, the rotation of the step motor 18 is transmitted to the drive shaft 14 via the shaft holding member 20, and the drive shaft 14 rotates.
On the other hand, the driven shaft 15 has an axial hollow hole 15a at its center.
It is formed in a hollow shape (cylindrical shape) having A small-diameter shaft portion 15b is formed at one end of the driven shaft 15, and the small-diameter shaft portion 15b is rotatably supported by a bearing hole 22 of the case 10. The hollow hole 15a is closed at one end of the driven shaft 15, and the other end (the left end in FIG. 2) is open to the outside.

A guide rod 23 made of resin is inserted into the hollow hole 15a of the driven shaft 15. This guide bar 23
Has a spring mounting shaft portion 23a. The spring mounting shaft portion 23a has a gap in which a coil spring (elastic means) 24 can be arranged between the driven shaft 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the hollow hole 15a. The guide rod 23 is formed so as to have the smallest diameter.

The coil spring 24 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the mounting shaft portion 23a, and has one end (the right end in FIG. 2).
Is fitted and locked in the locking groove 23b at the tip of the mounting shaft 23a, and one end of the coil spring 24 is fixed to the tip of the mounting shaft 23a. In the guide rod 23, the mounting shaft portion 23a is provided at the base side of the mounting shaft portion 23a.
A mating support surface 23c having a larger outer diameter by a predetermined amount is formed, and the mating support surface 23c is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the driven shaft 15 over a predetermined length. The other end of the driven shaft 15 is rotatably supported by a guide rod 23.

The other end of the driven shaft 15 is formed with a slit-shaped locking groove 15c extending over a predetermined length in the axial direction. The other end 24a of the coil spring 24 is bent radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the mounting shaft 23a, and the other end (arm) 24a is fitted and locked in the locking groove 15c. It is like that. Further, an outer portion of the fitting support surface 23c of the guide rod 23 is fitted and fixed to the fixing hole 25 of the case 10 by means such as press fitting.

Next, a method of assembling the guide rod 23 and the coil spring 24 will be described. The coil spring 24 is wound around the mounting shaft 23a of the guide rod 23,
One end of the coil spring 24 is fixed to the locking groove 23b at the tip of 3a. On the other hand, the other end 24a of the coil spring 24 is bent outward in the radial direction. Next, the mounting shaft portion 23a of the guide rod 23 is inserted into the hollow hole 15a of the driven shaft 15 through the fixing hole 25 of the case 10.

When the insertion of the mounting shaft 23a proceeds, and the other end 24a of the coil spring 24 approaches the other end of the driven shaft 15, the other end 24a is slit into the driven shaft 15. The other end 24 is fitted into the groove 15c.
a is the innermost portion of the slit-shaped locking groove 15c in the axial direction (FIG. 2).
And lock it. As a result, the other end 24 a of the coil spring 24 can be fixed to the other end of the driven shaft 15. At the same time, the outer side portion of the fitting support surface 23c of the guide rod 23 is fixed to the fixing hole 25 of the case 10 by means such as press fitting. As a result, the other end of the driven shaft 15 is
Can be rotatably supported.

As described above, one end of the coil spring 24 is connected to the guide rod 23 fixed to the case 10, and the other end 24a is connected to the driven shaft 15 rotatable with respect to the case 10. Therefore, the coil spring 24 is elastically tightened by rotation of the driven shaft 15 in one direction, and the elastic force is stored. When the rotational force in one direction of the driven shaft 15 is released, the coil spring 24 is rewound by its own spring force, and rotates the driven shaft 15 in the other direction (reverse direction).

In the present embodiment, the relationship between the direction in which the coil spring 24 is tightened and rewound and the direction in which the blowout mode switching film member 16 moves is set as follows. That is, FIG. 1 shows a state of the defroster mode in which the opening 16a of the blowing mode switching film member 16 communicates with the defroster opening 11, and the blowing mode switching film member 16 changes from the defroster mode to the face mode. Indicates a moving direction for switching from the face mode to the defroster mode.

The movement of the film member 16 for switching the blowing mode in the direction is performed by winding one end of the film member 16 around the drive shaft 14 by the rotational force of the step motor 18. At this time, as the film-shaped member 16 moves in the direction, the driven shaft 15 rotates, and the rotation of the driven shaft 15 elastically deforms the coil spring 24 so that the coil spring 24 is tightened. The direction is set.

On the other hand, when the step motor 18 is rotated in the opposite direction to rotate the drive shaft 14 in the opposite direction, and one end of the film-like member 16 is unwound (sent out) from the drive shaft 14, the coil Since the force acting on the spring 24 in the winding direction disappears, the coil spring 24 rewinds by its own spring force. As a result, the driven shaft 15 rotates in the reverse direction by the spring force of the coil spring 24, and the driven shaft 1
Since the other end of the film-like member 16 can be wound around 5, the film-like member 16 moves in the direction and switches from the face mode to the defroster mode.

The control of the step motor 18 is performed by the air-conditioning control device 26 shown in FIG.
The air-conditioning control device 26 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits, and performs predetermined arithmetic processing according to a preset program to control electric devices of the vehicle air-conditioning device. The stepping motor 18 is a driving means of the blowing mode switching film member 16. In the present embodiment, the stepping motor 18 outputs a blowing mode signal calculated by a microcomputer of the air conditioning control device 26 or a blowing mode signal manually set by an occupant. Based on this, the number of steps of the input pulse to the step motor 18 is determined, whereby the rotation amount (rotation angle) and rotation direction of the step motor 18 are determined. As is well known, signals from the sensors 27 for environmental factors such as the inside air temperature, the outside air temperature, and the amount of solar radiation that affect the air conditioning in the passenger compartment and the operation switches 29 on the air conditioning control panel 28 are input to the air conditioning control device 26. You.

As described above, in order to use the step motor 18 to move the film-like member 16 to a predetermined position according to the number of steps of the input pulse, the number of steps of the input pulse of the step motor 18 must be zero. It is necessary to set the film-like member position (motor rotation position) to a specific position in advance, that is, it is necessary to initialize (initialize) the film-like member position. At this time, the initial position of the film-like member 16 is set in a state where the film-like member 16 is wound on the drive shaft 14 side.

Thus, in the state where the winding of the film member 16 around the drive shaft 14 shown in FIG. 4A is completed (the locked state of the drive shaft 14), the initialization of the position of the film member is simplified. , And can be performed reliably. Here, a specific example of the procedure for setting (initializing) the initial position of the film-shaped member 16 will be described. The vehicle air conditioner is mounted on the vehicle, and the air conditioning control device 26 is mounted on a vehicle-mounted power supply battery (not shown). When the connection is made for the first time, or for checking the replacement of the power supply battery, the electrical connection between the air conditioning control device 26 and the power supply battery is temporarily interrupted, and then the connection between the air conditioning control device 26 and the power supply battery is established. When the electrical connection is made again, the position of the membrane member needs to be initialized.

Therefore, the air-conditioning control device (control means of claim 2) 26 controls the film-like member 16 based on a signal of an electrical connection with a power supply battery, an ON signal of an ignition switch of a vehicle engine, and the like. When the necessary conditions for the initial position setting (such as when the ignition switch is first turned on after the electric connection with the power supply battery is completed) are determined, the air-conditioning control device 26 energizes the motor 18 for a predetermined time, and 4 is rotated in the clockwise direction A in FIG. 4 for a predetermined time so that the film-like member 16 is wound around the drive shaft 14 (the rotation lock state of the drive shaft 14), and the initial position of the film-like member 16 is changed. Set automatically. That is, this state is set as the position where the number of steps of the input pulse of the step motor 18 is zero.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, the blowing mode switching film-like member 16 is used.
Although the present invention is applied to the driving mechanism of (1), the present invention can be similarly applied to the driving mechanism of the film member for switching the inside / outside air or the film member for air mixing in a vehicle air conditioner. Furthermore, the present invention can be widely applied not only to vehicle air conditioners but also to various uses as air passage opening and closing devices.

In the above embodiment, the case where the stepping motor 18 is used as the motor for driving the film-like member 16 has been described. However, even if the motor other than the stepping motor 18 is used, the position of the film-like member 16 needs to be initialized. is there. For example, a DC motor (DC motor) is used as a motor for driving the film-like member 16, and a rotating plate that rotates integrally with the DC motor is provided with a light passage opening, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are sandwiched between the rotating plate. The light from the light emitting element is arranged so as to reach the light receiving element through the light passage opening of the rotating plate. Is detected, not the position (absolute position) of the film-like member 16 but only the relative position to the initial position of the DC motor is detected. Since the position of the shape member 16 needs to be initialized,
The invention is equally applicable.

In the above embodiment, as the elastic means connected to the driven shaft 15, the coil spring 24 disposed in the hollow hole 15a of the driven shaft 15 is used.
Instead of the case 4, a spiral spring having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the driven shaft 15 may be arranged outside the case 10, and this spring may be used as an elastic means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a blowing mode switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a concept of initializing a film-like member position according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Case, 11 ... Defroster opening, 12 ... Face opening, 13 ... Foot opening, 14 ... Drive shaft, 15 ...
Driven shaft, 16: film-like member, 18: step motor (drive means), 24: coil spring (elastic means). 26 ... Control device for air conditioning (control means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A film member (16) having an opening (16a) through which air can flow is movably disposed in a case (10), and the film member (16) is moved to move the case (10). ) To open and close the air passages (11 to 13), connect one end of the film member (16) to the drive shaft (14), and connect the other end of the film member (16) to the driven shaft. (15), a drive motor (18) is connected to the drive shaft (14), and an elastic means (24) is connected to the driven shaft (15), and the drive is performed by the motor (18). When the shaft (14) is driven to rotate and one end of the film-like member (16) is wound around the drive shaft (14), the rotation of the driven shaft (15) causes the elastic means (24) to spring. It is elastically deformed to the side where the force increases, and the drive is performed by the motor (18). When the shaft (14) is driven to rotate in the opposite direction and one end of the film-like member (16) is unwound from the drive shaft (14), the driven shaft ( 15) rotates, and the other end side of the film-like member (16) is rotated by the driven shaft (1).
5) An air passage opening and closing device adapted to be wound up, wherein the initial position of the film-like member (16) is set to the film-like member (1).
6. The air passage opening / closing device according to claim 6, wherein the setting is made in a state of being wound around the drive shaft (14). 2. When a necessary condition for setting an initial position of the film-like member (16) is determined, the drive shaft (14) is rotationally driven by the motor (18), and the film-like member (1) is rotated.
6. A control means (26) for automatically setting an initial position of the film-shaped member (16) in a state where the film-shaped member (6) is wound around the drive shaft (14). Item 2. The air passage opening and closing device according to Item 1. 3. The air passage opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a step motor whose rotation amount is defined by the number of steps of an input pulse.