JP2002364712A - Gear mechanism, door opening device with the gear mechanism, and cabinet and refrigerator with the door opening device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a motor type door opening device that can freely set a pushing allowance necessary for door opening according to an installation space. SOLUTION: The door opening device comprises a gear mechanism 11 for transmitting rotation of a motor 12 alternately between a first gear group 13 and a second gear group 17, an output gear 27 meshed with a gear as the last of the rotation transmission of the gear mechanism 11, an internal thread 27a rotated by the output gear 27, and a slide member 28 with an external thread 28a meshed with the internal thread portion 27a on an outer circumference. The output gear 27 is rotated according to rotational travel of the motor to advance or retreat the slide member 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gear mechanism applied to a member for opening a revolving door or a drawer type door, a door opening device provided with the gear mechanism, a storage provided with the door opening device, and It relates to refrigerators.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a gear mechanism used in a door opening device of a refrigerator or the like, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-320955, the rotation of a motor is reduced by a gear train, and the last stage of the gear train is used. It is known to linearly move a protruding member provided with rack teeth meshing with a gear. Hereinafter, a gear mechanism of a conventional door opening device will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an internal mechanism of a conventional door opening device. In FIG. 7, the door opening device 1 includes a motor 2, a gear train 3 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 2, a protruding member 4 for converting the rotation of the gear train 3 into linear movement by rack teeth, and a linear movement of the protruding member 4. After that, the coil spring 5 for returning the protruding member 4 to the position before the movement is housed inside the case 6.

If the door 7 is installed on the moving direction side of the projecting member 4, the projecting member 4 pushes the door 7 in the opening direction by rotating the motor 2. When the door 7 is pushed for a predetermined distance, the engagement between the gear train 3 and the rack teeth of the projecting member 4 is released, and the projecting member 4 returns to the original position by the urging force of the coil spring 5.

[0005] Since the above-described door opening device tends to be housed in a partition wall of a refrigerator or the like, the thinner the device, the higher the convenience. Therefore, the gear mechanism of the conventional door opening device is made thin by making the rotation axis of the gear parallel to the thickness direction of the door opening device.

[0006]

However, in the conventional configuration, an axle for supporting the rotation of the gears by the number of the gears is required, and the number of parts is increased, which hinders cost reduction.

Further, since the protruding member 4 cannot return to the original position until the protruding member 4 is disengaged from the gear train 3, the door pushing allowance of the protruding member 4 is inevitably fixed. The degree of freedom to change the pressing margin cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and has a gear mechanism capable of reducing costs by reducing the number of parts and changing a door allowance according to an installation location, a door opening device provided with the gear mechanism, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator provided with the door opening device.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a motor, a first gear group in which a plurality of gears for transmitting the rotation of the motor are arranged on the same rotation shaft, The rotation transmitted from one gear of the first gear group is referred to as the first gear.
A gear mechanism is constituted by a second gear group in which a plurality of gears to be transmitted to a gear next to the gear group are arranged on the same rotation axis, and the rotation of the motor is controlled by the first gear group, the second gear group, Between the two, so only two axles,
It is not necessary to provide axles by the number of gears.

Next, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the gears of the first gear group and the second gear group include a large gear having a large meshing pitch circle and a small gear having a small meshing pitch circle. The gear is a two-stage gear in which the gears are concentrically connected. The rotation of the small gear of the first gear group is transmitted to the large gear of the second gear group, and the first small gear is integrated with the large gear.
The rotation of the motor is transmitted to the next gear of the first gear group, the second gear group, and the small gear integrated with the large gear, and further transmitted to the next large gear of the second gear group. There is an effect that the power is transmitted while being decelerated alternately between.

Next, a third aspect of the present invention is the invention according to the second aspect, wherein all the two-stage gears in the first gear group and the second gear group are unified into one type. The production setup becomes easier.

Next, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the number of two-stage gears in the first gear group and the number of two-stage gears in the second gear group are made equal. Therefore, the configurations of the first gear group and the second gear group can be made equal.

Next, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, a through-hole is provided on the two-stage gear and concentric with the rotating shaft, and an output shaft of the motor is connected to both ends of the through-hole. A connecting means is provided, and the reduction ratio can be changed depending on whether the side connected to the motor is a large gear or a small gear.

Next, a sixth aspect of the present invention provides a gear mechanism according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and an output gear that meshes with a final gear for transmitting rotation of the gear mechanism. A door opening device comprising a female screw rotating by the output gear and a slide member provided on the outer periphery with a male screw screwed to the female screw, the output gear is rotated to move the slide member forward or backward. This has the function of converting the rotation of the motor into the linear motion of the slide member, and the linear motion of the slide member can open the door that opens and closes the opening of the box.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the sixth aspect, the rotation axis of the first gear group and the rotation axis of the second gear group of the gear mechanism and the center axis of the slide member are the same. This is a door opening device arranged on a plane, and the size in the thickness direction can be minimized.

Next, an eighth aspect of the present invention is a storage provided with the door opening device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein a pushing allowance for the sliding member to push the door is provided according to a time of energizing the motor. Can control.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator provided with the door opening device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein a pressing allowance of the sliding member for pushing the door is controlled by a power supply time to the motor. Then, the close state of the seal member is released and the door is opened.

[0018] Next, a tenth aspect of the present invention is a refrigerator having a revolving door, wherein the revolving door is opened by a door opening device. Even if it changes, the push allowance can be adjusted according to the power supply time to the motor, and the door can be opened.

[0019]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a gear mechanism according to the present invention, a door opening device provided with the gear mechanism, and a refrigerator provided with the door opening device.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gear mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a two-stage gear used in the gear mechanism of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a gear of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a door opening device having a mechanism, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an output gear of the door opening device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of the door opening device, and FIG. It is a perspective view of the refrigerator provided with the door opening device of FIG.

In FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, reference numeral 11 denotes a gear mechanism, which uses a motor 12 as a drive source. Reference numeral 13 denotes a first gear group in which three two-stage gears are arranged on the same rotation axis, and the two-stage gears 14, 15, and 16 are small gears 14a, 15a, 16a having a small pitch circle diameter and a large gear having a large pitch circle diameter. Large gears 14b, 15b, 16b are arranged, and the large gears 14b, 15b, 16b are arranged toward the motor 12 side.

Reference numeral 17 denotes three 2 adjacent to the first gear group 13.
This is a second gear group in which the stepped gears are arranged on the same rotation axis, and the two-stepped gears 18, 19, and 20 are small gears 18a, 19a, 20a having a small pitch circle diameter and large gears 18b, 19b having a large pitch circle diameter. , 20b, and a large gear 18b,
19b and 20b are arranged side by side toward the motor 12 side.

The two-stage gears 14, 15, 1 of the first gear group 13
6, and the two-stage gears 18, 19, and 20 of the second gear group 17 are all the same gear. As shown in FIG. 2, the end face 14c of the small gear 14a has a cylindrical shape having a diameter smaller than the root circle diameter.
The end face 14d of the large gear 14b protrudes by about 2 mm, and a cylinder having a diameter smaller than the root circle diameter also protrudes about 0.2 mm, so that teeth of gears adjacent in the axial direction do not rub against each other.

The two-stage gear 14 has a through hole 14e penetrating the center of rotation. The diameter of the hole from the end surfaces 14c and 14d toward the center to a depth of 1 mm is larger than that of the center portion. Tapered portions 14f and 14g tapering to a depth of 1 mm with a maximum diameter of 14d are formed to facilitate press fitting of the output shaft 12a of the motor 12.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a two-stage gear 14, 1 of the first gear group 13.
This is a first axle that serves as a rotation shaft for the fifth and sixth gears. One end of the first axle protrudes from the end face 16c of the small gear 16a of the two-stage gear 16, but the other end extends only halfway through the through hole 14e of the two-stage gear 14. Absent. Because the large gear 14b of the two-stage gear 14
This is because the output shaft 12a of the motor 12 is press-fitted from the end face 14d.

Reference numeral 22 denotes the two-stage gears 18, 1 of the second gear group 17,
This is a second axle that serves as a rotating shaft for the gears 9 and 20. One end protrudes from the end face 18 d of the large gear 18 b of the two-stage gear 18, and the other end protrudes from the end face 20 c of the small gear 20 a of the two-stage gear 20.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a motor 12, a first gear group 13, a second gear
This is a case for accommodating the gear group 17, and includes a lower case 24 and an upper case 25. The lower case 24 and the upper case 25 are provided with claws 24a and hooks 25a which are engaged with each other. The case 25 is fastened.

Inside the lower case 24, a motor holding wall 24b for holding the motor 12 and an output shaft 12a of the motor 12 are provided.
, A grooved bearing 24d for supporting the first axle 21, and a grooved bearing 24e for supporting the second axle 22 are provided.

The upper case 25 has a pressing portion 25b (not shown) for holding the motor 12 corresponding to each bearing of the lower case 24, and a closing portion 25c for closing the opening side of the bearing 24c.
(Not shown) and a closing part 2 for closing the opening side of the bearing 24d.
5d (not shown) and a closing portion 25e (not shown) for closing the opening side of the bearing 24e are provided.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a slide mechanism for converting the rotation of the gear into a linear movement, and comprises an output gear 27 and a slide member 28 described later.

The output gear 27 is a two-stage gear 20 of the second gear group.
And a female screw 27a penetrating the center.

The slide member 28 has a male screw 28a screwed with the female screw 27a of the output gear 27 over substantially the entire length. One end of the slide member 28 is integrally formed with a disk 28b having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the male screw 28a, and the other end is connected to a rectangular parallelepiped guide 28c.

The slide member 28 is held by two groove-shaped bearings 29 provided in the lower case 24 of the case 23 in advance, and is arranged so that the disk 28b is outside the lower case 24.

The guide 28c comes into contact with one side of the holding wall 24b of the lower case 24 for holding the motor 12, and slides.

The upper case 25 is provided with the bearing 2 of the lower case 24.
9 is provided with a closing portion 25f for closing the opening side.

Accordingly, the door opening device 30 is constituted by the gear mechanism 11 and the slide mechanism 26.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a refrigerator having a door opening device 30. The refrigerator 31 has a storage room 32 for storing foods and the like, an insulating wall 33 for insulating the storage room 32, and a hinge 31a attached to the storage room 32. The door opening device 30 is housed below the heat insulating wall 33 of the storage room 32.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a seal member for bringing the opening side flat surface 32a of the storage room 32 into close contact with the door 34 by a magnet, and is provided on the side of the door 34 facing the storage room 32.

The door opening device 30 is located at a position where the disk 28c of the slide member 28 can abut against the seal member 35 of the door 34, but the door 34 is opened with a smaller force as far as possible from the hinge 31a. Clearly what you can do.

The operation of the gear mechanism configured as described above, a door opening device having the gear mechanism, and a refrigerator having the door opening device will be described.

When the motor 12 is driven and the output shaft 12a rotates, the two-stage gear 14 of the first gear group 13 into which the output shaft 12a is press-fitted rotates, and the second gear group 1 is moved from the small gear 14a.
The rotation is transmitted to the large gear 18b of the second two-stage gear 18, and the small gear 18a rotates.

The rotation of the small gear 18a of the second gear 18 is transmitted to the large gear 15b of the second gear 15 of the first gear group 13, and the small gear 15a rotates.

The rotation of the small gear 15a of the second gear 15 is transmitted to the large gear 19b of the second gear 19 of the second gear group 17, and the small gear 19a rotates.

The rotation of the small gear 19a of the second gear 19 is transmitted to the large gear 16b of the second gear 16 of the first gear group 13, and the small gear 16a rotates.

The rotation of the small gear 16 a of the second gear 16 is transmitted to the large gear 20 b of the second gear 20 of the second gear group 17.

The rotation of the small gear 20b of the two-stage gear 20 is transmitted to the output gear 27, and the female screw 27a rotates.

The output gear 27 has an end face sandwiched between the side faces of the bearing 29 of the slide member 28, and a guide 28c is connected to the end of the output member 27. Therefore, the rotation of the female screw 27a causes the slide member 28 to rotate. Male screw 28
"a" moves forward and backward.

In this embodiment, the motor 12 is connected to the output shaft 12
When rotated clockwise (forward rotation) as viewed from the side a, the slide member 28 moves (forwards) in a direction protruding from the case 23, and rotates the motor 12 counterclockwise (reverse rotation) as viewed from the output shaft 12a side. Then, the slide member 28 moves (retreats) inside the case 23.

Therefore, when the motor 12 is rotated forward,
The slide member 28 can push the door 34 of the refrigerator 32. The distance by which the slide member 28 presses the door 34 is preferably 20 mm or more so that the seal member 35 is separated from the plane on the opening side of the storage chamber 32 by a sufficient distance. The slide member 28 in the present embodiment is set so that the motor 12 is energized for one second so as to push the door by 30 mm.

When the slide member 28 has moved a sufficient distance to open the door 34,
When the energization is completed for one second, the motor 12 temporarily stops, and then the motor 12 starts to rotate in the reverse direction and slides out of the sliding member 28.
Is retracted and returned to the original position.

As described above, the motor 12, the first gear group 13 in which the three two-stage gears 14, 15, 16 are supported by the first axle 21, and the three two-stage gears 18, 19, 20 are formed in the second
The second gear group 17 supported by the axle 22 constitutes the gear mechanism 11, and the rotation of the motor 12 is alternately transmitted between the first gear group 13 and the second gear group 17. The two-stage gear can be supported by only two axles, and the number of parts can be reduced.

Since all the gears are two-stage gears, the reduction ratio can be easily increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the number of the two-stage gears in each gear group. The productivity is improved by making the two-stage gears the same shape.

Further, since the number of the two-stage gears in the first gear group 13 and the second gear group 17 is made equal, the first gear group 13 and the second gear group 17 can be shared and separated before assembly. It is not necessary to carry out the work, and the number of work steps can be reduced.

At both ends of the two-stage gear, a press-fit taper portion 14 serving as a connecting means for connecting to the output shaft 12a of the motor 12 is provided.
f, 14g, the output shaft 12 of the motor 12
It is possible to press-fit a from either the gear side of the large gear and the small gear. For example, it is possible to change the speed setting so that if it is press-fitted from the large gear side, it will be low speed, if it is press-fitted from the small gear side, it will be high speed. Thus, the reduction ratio of the gear mechanism can be diversified.

A slide mechanism 26 comprising an output gear 27 meshed with a large gear 20b of the two-stage gear 20 and having a female screw 27a at the center, and a slide member 28 having a male screw 28a screwed with the female screw 27a. Since the door opening device 30 is configured by being housed in the case 23, the slide member 28 can be moved forward and backward by rotating the motor 12 forward and backward, and the slide member 28 can be moved depending on the place where the door opening device 30 is installed. In the case where the moving distance of the motor 12 needs to be changed, it can be dealt with only by changing the energizing time to the motor 12, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of use.

Further, since the first axle 21, the second axle 22, and the slide member 28 are installed so as to be flush with each other, the door opening device 30 having a vertically thin structure can be provided. The degree of freedom of the place also increases.

The door opening device 30 is connected to the refrigerator 31
The refrigerator 31 can be housed in the heat insulating wall 33 and can be installed without increasing the current size of the refrigerator 31.

Further, depending on the position where the door opening device 30 is installed, the sliding allowance for the sliding member 28 with respect to the door 34 pushes the door.
By changing the energizing time to 2, the amount of movement of the slide member 28 when moving forward and backward can be freely changed, so that the degree of freedom of the installation position is expanded.

In this embodiment, the refrigerator 31
And the rotary door 34 that opens and closes this opening has been described as an example, but the form of the door is not limited to this.
For example, a similar effect can be obtained even with a drawer type door.

Further, the refrigerator 31 has a static pressure difference between the inside and outside of the refrigerator due to the cooling action, and the magnet type sealing member 35 has high adhesion, so that the pressing force of the screw type sliding member 28 works particularly effectively. However, the application effect of the door opening device 30 can be sufficiently obtained even in combination with a storage box for storing other foods or articles or a door for opening and closing an opening of a box body not used for storage.

[0061]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 is
A motor, a first gear group in which a plurality of gears for transmitting the rotation of the motor are arranged on the same rotation axis, and a rotation transmitted from one gear of the first gear group to the next gear group next to the first gear group. And a second gear group in which a plurality of gears transmitting to the first gear are arranged on the same rotation axis, and the rotation of the motor is controlled by the first gear.
This is a gear mechanism in which transmission is alternately performed between the gear group and the second gear group, and the number of parts can be reduced because only two axles are required for a plurality of gears.

Further, the invention described in claim 2 is the same as that in claim 1
The second gear group and the gears of the second gear group are two-stage gears in which a large gear having a large meshing pitch circle and a small gear having a small meshing pitch circle are concentrically coupled to each other. The increase in the ratio can be realized by adding a two-stage gear in the axial direction, and there is no need to change the thickness dimension which is a dimension perpendicular to the axial direction, which is suitable for thinning.

The invention according to claim 3 is the same as the invention according to claim 2.
In the invention of (1), a gear mechanism in which all the two-stage gears in the first gear group and the second gear group are unified into one type, the gears can be easily set up, the number of processing steps can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

The invention described in claim 4 is the same as the invention described in claim 3.
In the invention, the number of two-stage gears in the first gear group is equal to the number of two-stage gears in the second gear group, and the first gear group and the second gear group are shared. It is possible,
It is not necessary to perform division before assembling the gear group, so that the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Further, the invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 4
In the invention, a two-stage gear is provided with a through-hole concentric with the rotating shaft, and a coupling mechanism is provided at both ends of the through-hole to connect an output shaft of the motor. It can be connected from either the large gear side or the small gear side, and the reduction ratio can be changed between the case where the output shaft of the motor is connected from the large gear side of the two-stage gear and the case where the output shaft is connected from the small gear side. Applications as a reduction mechanism are expanded.

The invention described in claim 6 is the first invention.
A gear mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, an output gear that meshes with a gear that is the final gear of rotation transmission of the gear mechanism, a female screw that is rotated by the output gear, and screwed with the female screw. And a slide member provided on the outer periphery with a male screw to rotate the output gear so as to advance or retreat the slide member, by controlling the energizing time to the motor, The amount of movement when the slide member moves forward and backward can be controlled, so that even if a different amount of movement is required depending on the installation location, it can be easily handled, and the opening of the box body can be easily expanded. The door that opens and closes can be opened.

The invention described in claim 7 is the same as claim 6
In the door opening device of the invention, the rotation axis of the first gear group and the rotation axis of the second gear group of the gear mechanism and the center axis of the slide member are arranged on the same plane, and the vertical dimension is reduced. This can save space.

The invention described in claim 8 is the same as the claim 6.
Alternatively, a storage provided with the door opening device of the invention according to claim 7, wherein the pressing allowance of the sliding member for pressing the door can be controlled by the energization time to the motor, and the opening of the storage is opened according to the door configuration. Can be.

The invention according to claim 9 is the same as the invention according to claim 6.
Or a refrigerator provided with the door opening device according to claim 7, wherein the sliding member controls a pressing margin of pressing the door by an energizing time to the motor according to the door configuration, and releases the close contact state of the seal member to release the door. Can be opened.

The invention according to a tenth aspect is a refrigerator having a rotating door, wherein the rotating door is opened by a door opening device, wherein a sliding member pushes the door required to open the door of the storage. The cost depends on the place where the door opening device is installed, but the moving amount of the slide member can be easily changed by changing the energizing time to the motor, so the distance from the hinge as in the case of a revolving door can be easily changed. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with the case where the door allowance changes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gear mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a two-stage gear used in the gear mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a door opening device provided with the gear mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an output gear of the door opening device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of the door opening device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a refrigerator provided with the door opening device of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the internal structure of a conventional door opening device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 gear mechanism 12 motor 13 first gear group 14 two-stage gear 14f, 14g tapered portion (connection means) 15, 16 two-stage gear 17 second gear group 18, 19, 20 two-stage gear 27 output gear 27a female screw portion 28 Sliding member 28a Male screw part 30 Door opening device 31 Refrigerator 34 Door

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3J009 DA18 EA04 EA05 EA11 EA21 EA32 EA42 EC03 FA14 FA30 3L102 JA07 KA01 KB23 KC06 KC07 LE03

Claims (10)

[Claims] A first gear group in which a motor and a plurality of gears for transmitting the rotation of the motor are arranged on the same rotation axis;
A second gear group in which a plurality of gears for transmitting rotation transmitted from one gear of the first gear group to a gear next to the first gear group are arranged on the same rotation axis; Wherein the rotation of the first gear group and the second gear group are alternately transmitted. 2. The gears of the first gear group and the second gear group,
The gear mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the gear mechanism is a two-stage gear in which a large gear having a large meshing pitch circle and a small gear having a small meshing pitch circle are concentrically coupled. 3. The two-stage gears in the first gear group and the second gear group are unified into one type.
2. The gear mechanism according to claim 1. 4. The number of two-stage gears in the first gear group, and
The gear mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the number of two-stage gears in the gear group is the same. 5. The gear mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the two-stage gear is provided with a through hole concentric with the rotating shaft, and connecting means for connecting an output shaft of the motor to both ends of the through hole. . 6. The gear mechanism according to claim 1, an output gear meshing with a gear that is a final transmission of rotation of the gear mechanism, and a female screw rotated by the output gear. A slide member provided on the outer periphery with a male screw screwed into the female screw, and by rotating the output gear to advance or retreat the slide member, a door for opening and closing the opening of the box body is provided. A door opening device characterized by opening. 7. The door according to claim 6, wherein the rotation axis of the first gear group and the rotation axis of the second gear group of the gear mechanism and the center axis of the slide member are arranged on the same plane. Opening device. 8. A storage provided with the door opening device according to claim 6. 9. A refrigerator provided with the door opening device according to claim 6. 10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, further comprising a revolving door, wherein the revolving door is opened by a door opening device.