Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Yoshie Watari

Satoshi Nakayama

Makoto Fujiwara

Rokusaburo Kimura

Mitsuo Nakatani

Hiromi Nishimura

Haruhiko Naruse

Takahiro Kurihara

Shigeki Sasaki

Yuusaku Matsubara

Satoshi Makayama

A compact fluid control valve effects a reliable fluid flow regulation by the use of a shape memory alloy wire. The valve comprises a barrel provided with a base member and a valve body. The valve body is cooperative with the base member to define therebetween a valve opening in the course of an internal flow path through the valve for a fluid. The valve body is movable towards and away from the base member to vary the valve opening for regulating the flow of the fluid. A bias spring urges the valve body for varying the valve opening in one direction. The shape memory alloy wire connects the valve body to the barrel to move the valve body against the bias spring for varying the valve opening when heated. The barrel has anchor members for securing the ends of the wire. The anchor members are disposed on the exterior of the barrel and at such a portion that the wire stretches between the barrel and the valve body exteriorly of the barrel in an overlapping relation with a major portion of the barrel along the axial length thereof. Thus, the wire can be kept substantially away from the internal flow path of the fluid and consequently kept thermally unaffected thereby for a reliable flow regulation. Further, since the wire overlaps with the barrel, the entire valve can have a reduced axial dimension and be therefore made compact enough to be installed in a limited space.

Flow control valve

A miniature diaphragm pump comprises a motor having an output shaft rotating about its axis, an eccentric pin fixed in eccentric relation to the axis of the output shaft, a drive member connected to the eccentric pin to be driven thereby to reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the output shaft, at least one pump chamber disposed radially outwardly of the drive element with respect to the axis of the output shaft and having inlet and outlet valves. Each pump chamber has one diaphragm surface with a rigid joint rod and is connected with the drive member through the joint rod. The reciprocating motion of the drive member is transmitted to each pump chamber such that one pumping action including a compression step and an inflation step is provided to the respective pump chamber during one revolution of the eccentric pin about the output shaft. In addition, since the drive member is reciprocated in the direction perpendicular to the output shaft, it is not necessary to take a large space between the motor and each pump chamber for obtaining the reciprocating motion of the drive member, so that the diaphragm pump as a whole becomes to be small.

Miniature diaphragm pump

A constant-speed exhaust valve device has a valve body of a cylindrical shape opened at both axial ends, and a push means disposed to apply an axial compressive force to the valve body, whereby the exhaust speed of the device can be made steady and manufacturing yield of the device is made excellent.

Constant-speed exhaust valve device for hemadynamometer

An air pump includes a housing body containing an electromagnetic drive mechanism for oscillating a pair of diaphragms. The diaphragms define variable volume chambers, the chambers communicating with suction and discharge ports for establishing an air flow in response to diaphragm oscillation. The drive mechanism comprises coils defining an air gap and a permanent magnet type actuator reciprocably mounted in the air gap. The top of the housing body is open to enable the actuator to be visually inspected for proper alignment within the air gap. A cover is installed over the open top of the housing body with the actuator properly installed in the air gap. The cover contains air passages communicating with the suction and discharge ports. The weight of the diaphragm can be altered to achieve a desired resonance frequency tuned to the frequency of the electrical current.

Electromagnetic air pump

A bedsore-preventing air mattress controller provided with an air pump for generating a magnetomotive force in a plurality of stages proportional to the feed air amount of the pump, and with an electric switch for changing over the magnetomotive force of the pump and integrally assembled with an air shut-off valve for discharging and halting air, whereby the controller arrangement is simplified to effectively reduce the required number of parts for lowering manufacturing costs.

Bedsore-preventing air mattress controller

A drive circuit for a latching relay includes a flip-flop, a timer and a semiconductive switching circuit for the relay. First and second input signals are applied to the flip-flop and first and second control signals at the output of the flip-flop are applied alternately to the timer as a time limit output for controlling the energization of the switching circuit in concert with a high-speed changeover signal.

Growing community of inventors

Nagara-Higashi, Japan

Yoshie Watari