Abstract: A viscous heater which can increase the amount of generated heat without any special means of enlarging the heat generating effective region. A heater housing is made up of an intermediate housing (1), a cylindrical stator member (2), a front housing (5) and a rear housing (6). The heater housing defines therein a heat generating chamber (7) and a heat radiating chamber (water jacket) (8) around the heat generating chamber. Front and rear drive shafts (12A), (12B) and a rotor (20) are disposed in the heat generating chamber (7) to be rotatable together, while silicone oil as a viscous fluid is also sealed in the heat generating chamber (7) A plurality of grooves (31, 32) extending in the axial direction of the rotor are formed respectively on an outer circumferential surface of the rotor (20) and an inner circumferential surface of the stator member (2), the grooves serving as shearing force increasing means.

Abstract: A viscous fluid type heater including a stator having a stationary surface and a rotor having a rotary surface. The rotary surface is opposed to the stationary surface to define a clearance therebetween for the accommodation of a viscous fluid. A circulating fluid flows through a heat exchanging chamber. The rotor rotates about its axis and shears the viscous fluid to produce heat. The heat is transmitted to the circulating fluid from the viscous fluid. The rotary surface is inclined with respect to the rotor axis. The stationary surface is inclined in conformity with the rotary surface.

Abstract: A viscous heater includes a heat generating chamber 10 of a sealed structure. The viscous heater is further provided with a storage chamber SR, which is in communication with the heat generating chamber 10 at its central part, via a recovery hole 3c, a feed groove 3f and a feed hole 3e formed in a rear plate 3 and a rear housing 4. The storage chamber SR can store an amount of the viscous fluid, which exceeds the volume of a heat generating gap between an inner surface of the heat generating chamber and an outer surface of a rotor 16. The speed of degradation of the viscous fluid is slowed, while eliminating the necessity of a strict administration of a charged amount of the viscous fluid.

Abstract: This invention provides a viscous heater which can attain an improvement in heat generating efficiency while preventing leakage caused by expansion of a viscous fluid. For this purpose, a disk-shaped rotor is employed, and a front housing body, a front plate, a rear plate, and a rear housing body constitute housings, and these are stacked and fastened together by through bolts. Surplus spaces in the shape of concaves are formed in the front plate between the respective through bolts and water passages so as to communicate with the heat generating chamber in their outer circumference.

Abstract: A viscous fluid type heat generator having a heat generating chamber in which heat generation by the viscous fluid is performed in response to the rotation of a rotor element applying a shearing action to the viscous fluid, a heat receiving chamber in which a heat exchanging liquid flows to receive heat from the heat generating chamber, a heat generation control chamber for containing the viscous fluid to be supplied into the heat generating chamber and receiving the viscous fluid withdrawn from the heat generating chamber.

Abstract: A viscous heater as an auxiliary heating source in a heating system for a vehicle having a water cooled internal combustion engine. The viscous heater has an inlet port 14 for the engine cooling water and an outlet 15 for the engine cooling water, which are connected to respective conduits in the engine cooling system by means of a coupling device. The coupling device include coupling pipes 50A and 50B which are connected to the respective conduits in the engine cooling system at respective directing angles to allow the coupling pipes 50A and 50B to be aligned with the respective conduits.

Abstract: A viscous fluid type heat generator including a housing assembly in which a fluid-tight heat generating chamber confining therein a viscous fluid to which a shearing action is applied by a disc-like rotor element rotated by a drive shaft, and having inner wall surfaces confronting outer surfaces of the rotor element, the inner wall surfaces of the fluid-tight heat generating chamber and the outer faces of the rotor element defining a gap in which the viscous fluid is held, the rotor element being provided with one or more through-holes formed in an outer peripheral portion and a radially inner portion thereof with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotor element so that the through-holes cooperate with one or more non-circumferentially extending elongate indentations provided in the inner wall surfaces of the fluid-tight heat generating chamber during the rotation of the rotor element to expand a heat generating region formed by the gap.

Abstract: A heat generator is disclosed that has its driving state constantly monitored and can be disconnected from a power source after an abnormality of its drive mechanism is detected. A plurality of holes are formed at equal angular intervals along the periphery of a disk-shaped rotor, which is capable of rotating in unison with a drive shaft. A magnetic sensor is mounted in a rear housing in a manner opposed to the holes. The drive shaft is selectively connected to the outer drive source via an electromagnetic clutch. A closed magnetic circuit, which is formed in the heat generator by magnetic flux leakage from the electromagnetic clutch, extends through the rotor and the magnetic sensor. When the rotor is rotating normally, the magnetic flux is periodically disturbed by the holes, and the magnetic sensor outputs a pulse signal indicative of the sensed periodic disturbance of the magnetic flux.

Abstract: A variable capacity type viscous heater is provided in which the capacity reduction is carried out securely, and which can inhibit a viscous fluid from deteriorating the endurable heat generation even after a long period of service. For instance, it includes a heat-generating chamber, a collector passage, a supply passage, and a control chamber, which are formed therein. The collector passage is communicated with a central region of the heat-generating chamber, and is capable of opening and closing. The supply passage is communicated with a lower region of the heat-generating chamber. The control chamber is communicated with the collector passage and the supply passage. A silicone oil, held in the heat-generating chamber, is collected into the control chamber by the Weissenberg effect by way of the opened collector passage, thereby carrying out the capacity reduction.

Abstract: A viscous fluid type heat generator including a drive shaft for receiving a rotative drive force from an external drive source and mounting thereon a plurality of rotor elements to be rotated together with the drive shaft, a housing assembly in which at least one first heat generating component chamber confining therein a heat generative viscous fluid to which a shearing action is applied by the rotor elements, a second heat-generating-performance variable chamber confining a heat generative viscous fluid to which shearing action is applied by the rotor element, and a heat receiving chamber in which heat exchanging liquid flows therethrough to receive heat from the first and second heat generating chambers. The viscous fluid type heat generator further may includes a control chamber for controlling an amount of the viscous fluid in the second heat-generating-performance variable chamber, and a heat-generating-performance changing unit.

Abstract: A compressed dry air supply system includes an air compressor which uses water for lubricating and cooling the movable parts thereof. Compressed air obtained from the compressor is sufficiently dehumidified by a refrigerator type dryer. The water produced due to the dehumidification of the compressed air is received in a water tank, and some of the water held in the water tank is recycled back to the compressor.

Abstract: In a process of patterning a conductive film on a semiconductor layer using a mask, thereby to form an electrode, first, anisotropic etching is applied to a conductive film which is not covered by a mask under ambient atmosphere at a high pressure in an almost perpendicular direction, and conductive film materials sublimated by the etching are redeposited on a side wall of a conductive film under the mask. Lastly, the conductive film on the semiconductor layer and redeposited metal are etched isotropically by etchant having low energy under ambient atmosphere where the pressure is reduced, thus having the semiconductor layer exposed from the area which is not covered by the mask.

Abstract: A semiconductor device which comprises: a triple-layered structure consisting of a first single-crystalline layer of a group-III--V compound semiconductor, a second single-crystalline layer of a group-IV element semiconductor, and a third single-crystalline layer of an element semiconductor interposed between the first and second layers in a manner such that coherent bond between crystal lattices is established at both interfaces between the first and third layers and between the third and second layers, the third layer preventing component elements of the first and second layers from mutually diffusing from one to the other of the first and second layers. A process according to the present invention ensures a coherent bond between crystal lattices by using an epitaxial growth.

Abstract: In an inverter in which six switching elements of an inverter main circuit is controlled to be turned on and off under a switching pattern in which a voltage space vector composed of adjacent two of six fundamental voltage vectors out of phase from one another by an electrical angle of .pi.