Other

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho

Toshihiro Oshima

Takashi Ban

Toshio Morikawa

Hidefumi Mori

Shigeru Suzuki

Shinji Aoki

Tatsuyuki Hoshino

Hajime Ito

Nobuaki Hoshino

Shozo Tatematsu

A control apparatus and method for controlling an automotive heater apparatus. The heater apparatus includes a coolant circuit for cooling an engine, a coolant circulating through the circuit, a heat generator for transferring heat to the coolant, and a heater core for transferring heat from the coolant. The heat generator houses a viscous fluid and a rotor selectively connected to and disconnected from the engine by a clutch. The clutch connects the engine with the rotor to shear the viscous fluid and generate heat. When the rotating speed of the rotor exceeds a rotor speed limit, which varies in accordance with the detected coolant temperature, the clutch disconnects the rotor of the heat generator from the engine and de-activates the heat generator.

Automotive heater apparatus

A viscous fluid type heat generator which includes a housing assembly defining a heat generating chamber and a heat receiving chamber arranged adjacent to the heat generating chamber via a partition wall disposed therebetween. A rotor element is mounted to be rotated by a 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 shearing stress applied by the rotation of the rotor element. A heat exchanging fluid circulates through the heat receiving chamber to receive heat transferred through the partition wall from the heat generating chamber. A plurality of grooves, protuberances or expression are formed on at least one of the inner wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber to increase the total heat transfer surface area in the inner wall surfaces, and thus enhance a heat transfer efficiency through the partition wall. The density of arrangement of the grooves in the outer peripheral area of the inner wall surface is larger than that in the inner peripheral area of the inner wall surface.

Viscous fluid type heat generator with means for enhancing heat transfer

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Toshihiro Oshima