JP2019026160A - Shutter device - Google Patents

Abstract

A shutter device that prevents an operation from being hindered by a foreign object is provided. A shutter device 10 is a plate-like member provided with a plurality of sheets, each of which rotates about a rotation axis along the vertical direction to block an air flow, and A blade 100 that switches between a state in which the flow is not interrupted, a lower frame 200 that rotatably supports the blade 100 from below, and a foreign matter removal mechanism 121, 201, 211, 401 that removes foreign matter present on the lower frame 200. And comprising. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a shutter device.

  Air is introduced into the engine room at the front portion of the vehicle from the front grille. The air is used for heat dissipation in the radiator, heat dissipation in the condenser of the air conditioner, and the like.

  However, for example, during high-speed driving or in winter, the engine room is overcooled by the introduced air, which may reduce the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. In particular, in a vehicle that generates a small amount of heat from the internal combustion engine, such as a plug-in hybrid vehicle, it is highly necessary to keep the engine room warm. Moreover, in order to suppress the air resistance of the vehicle, it may be preferable to temporarily suppress the introduction of air into the engine room.

  Therefore, a shutter device for temporarily suppressing the flow of air introduced into the engine room is provided at the front portion of the vehicle. The shutter device includes a plurality of blades (opening / closing members) for adjusting the air flow, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below. As the respective blades rotate around the rotation axis, the gap between the blades changes, thereby changing the flow rate of air passing through the shutter device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-80250

  Incidentally, foreign substances such as pebbles and insects that have entered from the front grill may reach the shutter device mounted on the vehicle. If a foreign object enters between the blade and the frame that supports the blade, the operation of the shutter device may be hindered by the foreign object. In particular, in a shutter device configured such that the frame supports a vertically extending blade from below, foreign matter tends to accumulate on the upper surface of the frame. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the movement of the blade rotating along the upper surface is obstructed by the foreign matter.

  An object of the present disclosure is to provide a shutter device that prevents an operation from being hindered by a foreign object.

  The shutter device (10) according to the present disclosure is a plate-like member provided in a plurality of pieces, each of which is configured to block an air flow by rotating around a rotation axis along the vertical direction; A blade (100) that switches between a state in which the air flow is not blocked, a frame (200) that rotatably supports the blade from at least the lower side, and a foreign matter removal mechanism that removes foreign matter (OB) present on the frame (121, 201, 211, 401, SL).

  In such a shutter device, the foreign matter present in the portion of the frame that supports the blade is removed by the foreign matter removing mechanism. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a situation in which foreign matter enters between the frame and the blade and the movement of the blade is hindered by the foreign matter.

  According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a shutter device that prevents an operation from being hindered by a foreign object.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a shutter device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism for operating the blade. FIG. 3 is a view showing a cross section taken along the line III-III in FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross section taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a control device provided in the shutter device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the control device.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the description, the same constituent elements in the drawings will be denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and redundant description will be omitted.

  The configuration of the shutter device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference mainly to FIG. The shutter device 10 is provided in the vicinity of a front grill of a vehicle (not shown), and is configured as a device for adjusting the flow rate of air flowing from the front grill. The shutter device 10 includes a blade 100, a lower frame 200, an upper frame 300, an actuator 500, and an auxiliary member 400.

  The blade 100 is a plate-like member for adjusting the flow rate of air passing through the shutter device 10, and a plurality of blades 100 are provided in the shutter device 10. The blades 100 are arranged so as to be aligned in a row along the horizontal direction in a state where the longitudinal direction thereof is along the vertical direction. Each blade 100 is configured to rotate around a rotation axis (an axis passing through a projection 111 described later) along the vertical direction. By such rotation of the blade 100, a state where the air flow is blocked and a state where the air flow is not blocked are switched.

  The state shown in FIG. 1 is a state where the opening degree of the shutter device 10 is maximized (that is, fully opened). When the blades 100 are rotated and the ends of the blades 100 adjacent to each other are in contact with each other, the opening degree of the shutter device 10 is minimized (that is, fully closed).

  In FIG. 1, the direction in which the plurality of blades 100 are arranged, and the direction from left to right in FIG. 1 is the x direction, and the x axis is set along the same direction. Further, the direction from the lower side to the upper side along the longitudinal direction of the blade 100 is defined as the z direction, and the z axis is set along the same direction. Furthermore, the direction is perpendicular to both the x direction and the z direction, and the direction from the near side to the far side in FIG. 1 is the y direction, and the y axis is set along the same direction. In FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are set similarly.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a supported portion 110 and a driven portion 120 are provided near the lower end portion of the blade 100.

  The supported portion 110 is a plate-like portion formed so as to protrude outward from the surface of one side (left side in FIG. 3) of the blade 100. The supported portion 110 is a portion that is rotatably supported by a lower frame 200 described later. From the lower surface of the supported portion 110, a cylindrical protrusion 111 protrudes downward. As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 111 is accommodated inside a groove 212 formed in the lower frame 200. Thereby, the blade 100 is supported in a state of being rotatable around the central axis of the protrusion 111.

  In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the thing of the structure similar to the to-be-supported part 110 is formed in the upper end part vicinity of the braid | blade 100, and the cylindrical protrusion protrudes toward the upper side from the said part. The protrusion is inserted from below into a through hole 310 (FIG. 1) formed in the upper frame 300. Further, the central axis of the protrusion coincides with the central axis of the protrusion 111. Thereby, the blade 100 is supported not only by the lower frame 200 but also by the upper frame 300 so as to be rotatable around the central axis of the protrusion 111.

  The driven portion 120 is a plate formed so as to protrude outward from the surface of the blade 100 opposite to the surface on which the supported portion 110 is formed (the right side in FIG. 3). It is a shaped part. The driven portion 120 is a portion that receives a force from an auxiliary member 400 described later. From the lower surface of the driven part 120, a columnar protrusion 122 protrudes downward. As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 122 is accommodated inside a groove 410 formed in the auxiliary member 400. Accordingly, the movement of the protrusion 122 along the x axis is restricted by the inner surface of the groove 410. Specific operations of the auxiliary member 400 and the like will be described later.

  A wiper part 121 is formed on the driven part 120. The wiper portion 121 is formed so as to extend in the x direction from the end portion on the −y direction side of the driven portion 120. It can be said that the wiper part 121 formed in the driven part 120 is formed so as to protrude along the surface of the lower frame 200 from a part of the blade 100 that is in the vicinity of the lower frame 200.

  The lower frame 200 supports the blade 100 so as to be rotatable from the lower side as described above. Note that the lower frame 200 and the upper frame 300 of the present embodiment are part of a frame that is configured as a rectangular frame as a whole. However, in FIG. 1, a portion of the frame that connects the end of the lower frame 200 and the end of the upper frame vertically is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lower frame 200 includes a first support part 210 and a second support part 220. The first support portion 210 is a portion adjacent to the auxiliary member 400 along the y direction (horizontal direction). The groove 212 (FIG. 2) described above is formed in the first support portion 210. For this reason, the 1st support part 210 can also be called the part which is supporting the braid | blade 100 rotatably. The groove 212 is a groove formed so as to recede in the −y direction from the surface of the first support portion 210 on the y direction side.

  The first support portion 210 is formed with a through hole 211 that penetrates the first support portion 210 in the vertical direction. A plurality of through holes 211 are formed, and are arranged so as to be aligned along the x-axis. The position where the through hole 211 is formed is a position where the blade 100 passes through the upper side when the blade 100 rotates.

  A slope 201 is formed on a portion of the upper surface of the first support portion 210 that is opposite to the auxiliary member 400 (that is, on the −y direction side). The slope 201 is an inclined surface that descends toward the −y direction. A portion of the lower frame 200 where the slope 201 is formed (that is, an upper surface) is a portion facing the blade 100.

  The effect of forming the through hole 211 and the slope 201 as described above will be described later.

  The first support part 210 extends to a position further below the lower end of the auxiliary member 400. The second support part 220 is formed to extend from the lower part of the first support part 210 toward the y direction. The upper end surface of the second support part 220 is lower than the upper end surface of the first support part 210. The auxiliary member 400 is supported from below by the second support portion 220. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end surface of the auxiliary member 400 is located on the same plane as the upper end surface of the first support part 210.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an opening SL is formed at a position between the first support part 210 and the second support part 220 in the lower frame 200 so as to penetrate the lower frame 200 up and down. . The opening SL is a slit-like opening that extends along the x-axis. The position of the opening SL is a position immediately below a gap formed between the first support part 210 and the auxiliary member 400.

  Returning to FIG. The upper frame 300 supports the blade 100 so as to be rotatable from the upper side. As already described, the upper frame 300 is formed with a through hole 310 penetrating the upper frame 300 in the vertical direction, and a projection (not shown) formed on the blade 100 is inserted into the through hole 310 from below. Thereby, the blade 100 is supported in a state of being rotatable around the central axis of the protrusion.

  The actuator 500 is a rotating electrical machine that generates a driving force for rotating the blade 100. The actuator 500 is disposed at a position directly above one of the plurality of through holes 310 on the upper surface of the upper frame 300. The drive shaft of the actuator 500 is connected to the blade 100 immediately below the through hole 310. For this reason, the driving force of the actuator 500 is directly transmitted to the blade 100 immediately below it. The driving force is also transmitted to the other blades 100 via the auxiliary member 400. The operation of the actuator 500 is controlled by a control device 600 (FIG. 5) described later.

  As described above, the auxiliary member 400 is a member for transmitting the driving force of the actuator 500 to each blade 100 and simultaneously operating the blade 100. The auxiliary member 400 is installed on the upper surface of the second support part 220 in the lower frame 200 with its longitudinal direction along the x-axis. Thus, in this embodiment, the auxiliary member 400 is disposed at a position on the lower side of the blade 100.

  Although the groove 212 is open on the y direction side, the auxiliary member 400 prevents the protrusion 111 from moving to the y direction side and coming off the groove 212. In other words, the auxiliary member 400 is a member having both a function of operating each blade 100 by transmitting a driving force and a function of preventing each blade 100 from falling off the frame 200. Yes. Instead of such a configuration, the auxiliary member 400 may have only one of the two functions. As described above, a plurality of grooves 410 for accommodating the protrusions 122 of the blade 100 are formed on the upper surface of the auxiliary member 400. As shown in FIG. 2, the groove 410 is a groove formed so as to recede from the upper surface of the auxiliary member 400 toward the lower side, and is formed as a linear groove extending along the y-axis. .

  A slope 401 is formed on a portion of the upper surface of the auxiliary member 400 that is opposite to the first support portion 210 (that is, the y direction side). The slope 401 is an inclined surface that descends toward the y direction. A portion of the auxiliary member 400 where the inclined surface 401 is formed (that is, the upper surface) is a portion facing the blade 100. The effect of forming such a slope 401 will be described later.

  The operation of the shutter device 10 will be described with reference mainly to FIG. FIG. 2 shows the lower frame 200 and the auxiliary member 400 as viewed from above. In the figure, the blade 100 has only the projections 111 and 122 drawn by solid lines. The main body portion of the blade 100 is drawn with a dotted line.

  When the actuator 500 is driven, the blade 100 immediately below the actuator 500 rotates around the central axis of the protrusion 111. At that time, when the protrusion 122 provided on the blade 100 hits the inner surface of the groove 410, the auxiliary member 400 receives a force in the direction along the x-axis and moves in the same direction.

  For example, when the drive shaft of the actuator 500 (and the blade 100 immediately below it) rotates in the clockwise direction when viewed from above, the auxiliary member moves in the x direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. Become.

  When the auxiliary member moves in the x direction, the protrusion 111 provided on each blade 100 receives a force in the x direction from the inner surface of the groove 410. With this force, the blades 100 other than the blade 100 immediately below the actuator 500 also rotate in the clockwise direction when viewed from above. Note that the protrusion 111 at this time moves in the −y direction along the groove 410.

  As described above, the driving force of the actuator 500 is transmitted to each blade 100 by the auxiliary member 400, so that all the blades 100 move simultaneously and in the same direction. The same applies to the case where the drive shaft of the actuator 500 rotates in the opposite direction.

  Incidentally, foreign substances such as pebbles that have entered from the front grill may reach the shutter device 10 mounted on the vehicle. If a foreign object enters between the blade 100 and the lower frame 200 that supports the blade 100, the operation of the shutter device 10 may be hindered by the foreign object. In particular, in the shutter device configured such that the lower frame 200 supports the lower end portion of the blade 100 extending in the vertical direction as in the present embodiment, foreign matter is likely to accumulate on the lower frame 200. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the movement of the blade 100 rotating along the upper surface is hindered by foreign matter.

  Therefore, the shutter device 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which foreign matters existing on the lower frame 200 and the like can be removed by a plurality of foreign matter removing mechanisms. Such a foreign matter removing mechanism will be described with reference mainly to FIG. In FIG. 4, reference symbols OB are foreign substances present on the upper surfaces of the lower frame 200 and the auxiliary member 400. The foreign matter is hereinafter referred to as “foreign matter OB”. In FIG. 4, only the cross section of the lower frame 200 and the auxiliary member 400 is shown, and the wiper portion 121 is schematically shown by a dotted line.

  In the present embodiment, as already described, the wiper portion 121 is formed in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the blade 100. The lower surface of the wiper portion 121 is parallel to and close to the upper surface of the first support portion 210 and the upper surface of the auxiliary member 400 in the lower frame 200. For this reason, when the blade 100 rotates and the wiper part 121 moves in the direction of the arrow, the foreign matter OB present on the upper surfaces of the first support part 210 and the auxiliary member 400 is scraped out to the y direction side by the wiper part 121.

  Further, when the blade 100 rotates in the opposite direction and the wiper part 121 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow, the foreign matter OB present on the upper surfaces of the first support part 210 and the auxiliary member 400 is removed by the wiper part 121 in the −y direction. It is scraped to the side.

  Thus, the wiper part 121 provided in each blade 100 functions as one of the foreign matter removal mechanisms for removing the foreign matter OB. In the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the blade 100 is close to the upper surface of the first support portion 210. For this reason, the foreign object OB is scraped out by the lower end of the blade 100 as described above.

  A part of the foreign matter OB scraped by the wiper unit 121 or the like moves to the y direction side and reaches the slope 401. The foreign matter falls along the slope 401 by gravity and is discharged from the shutter device 10. Thus, the inclined surface 401 formed on the auxiliary member 400 also functions as one of the foreign matter removing mechanisms for removing the foreign matter OB.

  Similarly, a part of the foreign matter OB scraped by the wiper portion 121 or the like moves to the − direction side and reaches the slope 201. The foreign matter falls along the slope 201 due to gravity and is discharged from the shutter device 10. As described above, the slope 201 formed on the lower frame 200 also functions as one of the foreign matter removing mechanisms for removing the foreign matter OB.

  A part of the foreign object OB scraped out by the wiper unit 121 and the like is discharged from the shutter device 10 through the through hole 211 when moving along the upper surface of the first support unit 210. As described above, the through hole 211 formed in the lower frame 200 also functions as one of the foreign matter removing mechanisms for removing the foreign matter OB.

  Further, a part of the foreign matter OB scraped by the wiper unit 121 and the like enters the gap between the first support unit 210 and the auxiliary member 400 when moving along the upper surface of the first support unit 210. There is. However, since the opening SL is formed at a position immediately below the gap, the foreign matter OB that has entered the gap is discharged from the shutter device 10 through the opening SL. Thus, the opening SL formed in the lower frame 200 also functions as one of the foreign matter removing mechanisms for removing the foreign matter OB.

  As described above, in the shutter device 10 according to the present embodiment, the discharge of the foreign matter OB is promoted by the plurality of foreign matter removing mechanisms. Since the foreign matter is discharged every time the blade 100 rotates, a large amount of foreign matter OB does not accumulate in the shutter device 10. For this reason, possibility that the operation | movement of the shutter apparatus 10 will be prevented by the foreign material OB is very low.

  A control device 600 included in the shutter device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 600 is a device for controlling the operation of each blade 100. The control device 600 is configured as a computer system including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control device 600 includes a control unit 610 and a storage unit 620 as functional control blocks.

  The control unit 610 controls the operation of the actuator 500 and thereby controls the operation of the blade. The actuator 500 of the present embodiment incorporates an encoder that detects the rotational angle of the drive shaft, a torque sensor that measures rotational torque, and the like (both not shown). The control unit 610 acquires both the rotation angle detected by the encoder and the torque value measured by the torque sensor. The control unit 610 always keeps track of the opening degree of each blade 100 at the present time by converting the rotation angle. The controller 610 operates the actuator 500 so that the opening degree of the blade 100 matches the target opening degree.

  The storage unit 620 is a non-volatile storage device provided in the control device 600. The storage unit 620 stores various information necessary for processing performed by the control unit 610.

  In the shutter device 10 according to the present embodiment, by providing the foreign matter removing mechanism as described above, the operation of the blade 100 is prevented from being hindered by the foreign matter OB. However, it is difficult to completely eliminate the possibility that the foreign object OB is bitten. Therefore, the control device 600 according to the present embodiment is configured to perform control so as to try to remove the foreign object OB by the operation of the blade 100 when the foreign object OB is caught.

  The specific contents of the control will be described with reference to FIG. A series of processes shown in FIG. 6 is a process executed by the control device 600 in parallel with the rotation of the blade 100.

  In the first step S01, it is determined whether or not the blade 100 has stopped before reaching the target opening. This determination is made based on the torque value transmitted from the actuator 500 or a change in the rotation angle. When the blade 100 is operating, or when the blade 100 reaches the target opening, the series of processes shown in FIG. If the blade 100 stops before reaching the target opening, the process proceeds to step S02.

  In step S <b> 02, the current opening, that is, the opening when the blade 100 is stopped is stored in the storage unit 620.

  In step S03 following step S02, a process of rotating the blade 100 in the opposite direction is performed. That is, the “opposite direction” means the direction opposite to the direction approaching the target opening. The control for rotating the blade 100 in the reverse direction in this way is also referred to as “first control” below. The first control may be performed to rotate the blade 100 by a certain angle, or may be performed to rotate the blade 100 to a position where the blade 100 stops (that is, a fully open position or a fully closed position).

  In step S04 following step S03, a process of starting to rotate the blade 100 in a direction approaching the target opening is performed. Control for rotating the blade 100 in this way, that is, control for bringing the opening degree of the blade 100 close to the target opening degree again after the first control is also referred to as “second control” below. The second control is performed until the opening degree of the blade 100 reaches the target opening degree.

  When the second control is started in step S04, the process proceeds to step S05 without waiting for the target opening to be reached. In step S05, as in step S01, it is determined whether the blade 100 has stopped before reaching the target opening.

  When the blade 100 is operating, the process of step S05 is repeatedly executed until the opening degree of the blade 100 reaches the target opening degree. When the opening degree of the blade 100 reaches the target opening degree, the series of processes shown in FIG.

  If the blade 100 has stopped before reaching the target opening in step S05, the process proceeds to step S06. In step S06, it is determined whether or not the current rotation angle of the blade 100 is the same as the rotation angle stored in step S02. When the respective rotation angles are different from each other, the state in which the foreign object OB is caught has changed from the previous time due to the execution of the first control and the second control. In this case, if the first control and the second control are executed again, the foreign object OB may be removed. Therefore, in this case, the processes after step S02 are executed again.

  If the current rotation angle of the blade 100 is the same as the rotation angle stored in step S02, the process proceeds to step S07. In this case, the state in which the foreign object OB is caught does not change even when the first control and the second control are executed. In this case, even if the first control and the second control are executed again, the possibility that the foreign object OB is removed is low. Therefore, in step S07, the operation control of the blade 100 is interrupted.

  As described above, when the rotation of the blade 100 stops before the opening degree of the blade 100 reaches the target opening degree, the control unit 610 performs the first control after performing the first control. 2 Control is executed. Control unit 610 repeats the first control and the second control until the opening degree of blade 100 reaches the target opening degree. As a result, the foreign object OB is removed, and the possibility that the blade 100 can operate normally is increased.

  The control device 600 includes a storage unit 620 that stores the opening when the rotation of the blade has stopped. When the rotation of the blade 100 is stopped at the same opening as the opening stored in the storage unit 620 during the execution of the second control, the control unit 610 interrupts the control of the blade 100 (step S06). Thereby, the situation where the 1st control and the 2nd control are repeated unnecessarily is prevented.

  The present embodiment has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Those in which those skilled in the art appropriately modify the design of these specific examples are also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as they have the features of the present disclosure. Each element included in each of the specific examples described above and their arrangement, conditions, shape, and the like are not limited to those illustrated, and can be changed as appropriate. Each element included in each of the specific examples described above can be appropriately combined as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

10: Shutter device 100: Blade 121: Wiper part 200: Lower frame 201, 401: Slope 211: Through hole OB: Foreign object SL: Opening

Claims (11)

A plurality of plate-shaped members, each of which rotates about a rotation axis along the vertical direction, thereby switching between a state where the air flow is blocked and a state where the air flow is not blocked A blade (100);
A frame (200) for rotatably supporting the blade from at least the lower side;
A shutter device comprising a foreign matter removing mechanism (121, 201, 211, 401, SL) for removing foreign matter (OB) present on the frame.   2. The shutter according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing mechanism includes a wiper portion (121) formed so as to protrude along a surface of the frame from a portion of the blade in the vicinity of the frame. apparatus.   The shutter device according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing mechanism includes a through hole (211) formed so as to penetrate the frame in a vertical direction.   The shutter device according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing mechanism includes a slope (201) formed in a portion of the frame that faces the blade.   Auxiliary having at least one of a function of transmitting a driving force to each blade and operating the blade, or a function of preventing each blade from falling off the frame, below the blade. The shutter device according to claim 1, wherein the member is arranged.   The shutter device according to claim 5, wherein the foreign matter removing mechanism includes a slope (401) formed in a portion of the auxiliary member that faces the blade. The frame is
A first support portion (210) that is a portion adjacent to the auxiliary member along the horizontal direction;
A second support part (220) that is a part that supports the auxiliary member from below;
The slit-shaped opening (SL) is formed in the position between the said 1st support part and the said 2nd support part among the said frames so that the said frame may be penetrated up and down. Shutter device.   The shutter device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit (610) for controlling the operation of the blade. If the rotation of the blade has stopped before the blade opening reaches the target opening,
The controller is
After performing the first control to rotate the blade in a direction opposite to the direction approaching the target opening,
The shutter device according to claim 8, wherein a second control that is a control for rotating the blade again in a direction in which the opening degree of the blade approaches the target opening degree is performed. The controller is
The shutter device according to claim 9, wherein the first control and the second control are repeated until the opening degree of the blade reaches a target opening degree. A storage unit (620) for storing an opening when the rotation of the blade has stopped;
The controller is
11. The shutter device according to claim 10, wherein during the execution of the second control, when the rotation of the blade stops at the same opening as the opening stored in the storage unit, the blade control is interrupted. .

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