JP2003262255A - Power interrupting mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability of operation of a power interrupting mechanism by smoothing engagement and disengagement of gears. <P>SOLUTION: Intermediate gears 42 and a reversing gear 43 are arranged between a driving gear 40 rotatingly driven by a driving electric motor and an output gear 41 engaging with a rack. The reversing gear 43 engages with the output gear 41 via the intermediate gears 42, and is able to swing between a power transmitting position in which the reversing gear 43 engages with the driving gear 40 and the power interrupted position in which the reversing gear 43 disengages with the driving gear 40 because the reversing gear 43 is swingably supported by a swingable plate 45. Therefore, when the reversing gear 43 moves between the power transmitting position and the power interrupted position, the reversing gear 43 rotates in the direction opposite to the moving direction. Therefore, the reversing gear 43 engages or disengages with the driving gear 40 in a state where movement of the reversing gear 43 in the tooth thickness direction is small. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention moves an intermediate gear movably provided between a drive gear and a driven gear to rotate a drive gear and a driven gear driven by the driven gear. The present invention relates to a power interrupting mechanism that interrupts power transmitted to and from a member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A power transmission / reception mechanism transmits power transmitted between a drive source such as an electric motor for rotationally driving a drive gear and a driven member driven by a driven gear meshing with the drive gear. This is for switching between the state and the power cutoff state. For example, as such a power intermittent mechanism, an intermediate gear is provided between the drive gear and the driven gear,
It is known that the intermediate gear is moved between a power transmission position that meshes with both the drive gear and the driven gear and a power cut-off position that meshes with one of the gears so that the power is intermittently connected. The power interruption mechanism with such a structure is
For example, it is used in an actuator unit mounted on an automobile or the like to automatically open and close a back door of the vehicle.

The actuator unit has a rack bar provided so as to reciprocate substantially vertically in the vehicle, a power unit for axially driving the rack bar, and a connecting rod for connecting the rack bar and the back door, The back door is opened and closed by linearly reciprocating the rack bar. The power unit has an electric motor, and the output of the electric motor is transmitted via a drive gear to an output pinion gear that meshes with a rack gear provided on a rack bar. And
When the back door is automatically opened and closed, the electric motor causes the rack bar to reciprocate through the output pinion gear, and the reciprocating motion is transmitted to the back door through the connecting rod to perform the opening and closing operation. It will be.

In this case, the intermediate gear is arranged between the drive gear and the output pinion gear. A swing plate is mounted on the rotary shaft of the output pinion gear so as to be swingable about this rotary shaft, and the intermediate gear is rotatably supported by the swing plate. The intermediate gear swings integrally with the swing plate while always meshing with the output pinion gear. A switching mechanism is connected to the lever portion formed on the swing plate, and the switching mechanism causes the intermediate gear to move between a power transmission position where it meshes with the drive gear and a power cut-off position where the gear meshes with the drive gear. It is switched so that the power is intermittently connected.

In such an actuator unit,
When the back door is opened and closed manually, the electric motor is rotated through the output pinion gear, the intermediate gear, and the drive gear as the back door moves, and the operation feeling deteriorates, for example, the opening and closing operation becomes heavy. It will be. Therefore, when the back door is manually opened and closed, the intermediate gear is set to the power cut-off position to bring the electric motor and the back door into a closed state, so that the operation feeling of opening and closing the back door is a normal back door without an automatic opening and closing device. I am trying to improve it to the same level as. Then, when the back door is automatically opened or closed by being driven by an electric motor,
With the intermediate gear as the power transmission position, the output of the electric motor, that is, the output of the drive gear is transmitted to the output pinion gear via the intermediate gear.

[0006]

In the power interrupting mechanism used in such an actuator unit, when the intermediate gear oscillates between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position with both the drive gear and the driven gear stopped. The intermediate gear is rotated in the same direction as its moving direction.
For example, when the intermediate gear moves clockwise from the power transmission position around the driven gear and is switched to the power cut-off position, the intermediate gear disengages from the drive gear while rotating clockwise with respect to the swing plate. It will be. Conversely, when the intermediate gear moves from the power cut-off position counterclockwise around the driven gear and is switched to the power transmission position, the intermediate gear rotates counterclockwise with respect to the oscillating plate while the drive gear rotates. Will be engaged. Here, the contact point between the intermediate gear and the drive gear, which are in the power transmission position, is usually arranged so as to be located outside the swing orbit of the intermediate gear.

Therefore, for example, when the intermediate gear is disengaged from the drive gear, the teeth of the intermediate gear are disengaged while moving in the tooth width direction with respect to the teeth of the drive gear. Therefore, a large resistance force is generated on the tooth surfaces of the drive gear and the intermediate gear, and the operation of the intermediate gear becomes unstable. In particular, when the back door is fully open and the load is applied to the intermediate gear via the driven gear, the resistance becomes even greater, and a large driving force is required to operate the intermediate gear. There was a case where the teeth were locked and the operation of the intermediate gear could not be performed reliably.
On the other hand, when the backlash is set to be large to reduce the resistance force, the noise between the gears becomes large.

On the other hand, when the intermediate gear is meshed with the drive gear, it is necessary to prevent the so-called riding in which the teeth of the intermediate gear ride on the teeth of the drive gear and the meshing is incomplete. Therefore, in the conventional power on / off mechanism, the tooth profile of the drive gear and the intermediate gear is formed to have a pointed tip to prevent riding. However, even in such a case, as opposed to the case where the intermediate gear is disengaged, its teeth are engaged with the teeth of the drive gear while moving in the tooth width direction, so riding up occurs. It was easy and made the operation of the intermediate gear unstable.

An object of the present invention is to smooth the engagement and disengagement of gears to improve the reliability of operation of the power connection / disconnection mechanism.

[0010]

A power connection / disconnection mechanism of the present invention is rotatably provided on a support base and is driven by a drive source to be rotated, and a drive gear is rotatably provided on the support base. A driven gear that drives the drive gear, an oscillating member that is oscillated around a rotation shaft of one of the drive gear and the driven gear, and one of the drive gear and the driven gear. An intermediate gear that meshes with and is rotatably supported by the swing member, and that swings about a rotation axis of the one gear, and an intermediate gear that meshes with the intermediate gear and is rotatably supported by the swing member. A reverse rotation gear that is swingable between a power transmission position that meshes with one of the other gears of the drive gear and the driven gear and a power cut-off position that disengages about the rotation axis of the gear. Transmission position and above When moving between the force blocking position, the reverse gear is characterized by rotating in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the swinging member.

The power connection / disconnection mechanism of the present invention is characterized in that the swing member is driven by a drive member that is reciprocally moved in the longitudinal direction by a switching electric motor.

In the power on-off mechanism of the present invention, the swing member is swingably provided about the rotation shaft of the driven gear, and the reverse gear is meshed with the power transmission position where it meshes with the drive gear. It is characterized by swinging between the power-off position and the power-off position.

In the power connection / disconnection mechanism of the present invention, when the reverse rotation gear moves from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position, the drive source moves in the disengagement support direction opposite to the movement direction of the reverse rotation gear. The driving gear is driven to rotate.

In the power connection / disconnection mechanism of the present invention, the driven gear is meshed with a rack gear formed on a reciprocating member provided reciprocally in the vehicle, and the reciprocating member reciprocates to open and close the vehicle. It is characterized in that the freely installed opening / closing member is automatically opened / closed.

In the present invention, the reverse gear that moves from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position disengages from the drive gear or the driven gear while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, so that the resistance force between the gears is suppressed. As a result, the disengagement is smoothly performed, and the reliability of the operation of the power disconnecting mechanism can be improved.

Further, in the present invention, when the reverse gear is disengaged from the drive gear, the drive source rotationally drives the drive gear in the disengagement support direction opposite to the swing direction of the reverse gear. The removal of the reverse rotation gear is assisted from the drive gear side, and the reliability of the operation of the power connection / disconnection mechanism can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the reverse gear that moves from the power cut-off position to the power transmission position meshes with the drive gear or the driven gear while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, so that the gear is not run up. As a result, the reliability of the operation of the power interrupting mechanism can be improved.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a part of a vehicle having an actuator unit equipped with a power connection / disconnection mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a back door is fully closed. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a part of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 when the back door is in a fully opened state. 3 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing details of the actuator unit shown in FIG. 1 in a power transmission state, and FIG. 4 is a partial view showing details of the actuator unit shown in FIG. 3 in a power cut state. It is a cutaway sectional view. Furthermore, FIG.
It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a back door 2 as an opening / closing member is provided at the rear end of the vehicle 1.
The back door 2 is openably and closably attached to the vehicle 1 via a hinge 4 attached to a rear end portion of the vehicle roof 3.
The back door 2 pivots between a fully closed state in which it is substantially vertical to the vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. 1 and a fully opened state in which it is substantially horizontal to the vehicle as shown in FIG. The rear end of the vehicle 1 is opened and closed. A ball stud 5 is fixed to the left side of the back door 2 in the vehicle width direction.
Further, a gas damper 6 that expands and contracts as the back door 2 is opened and closed is attached between the rear end of the vehicle 1 and the back door 2 to reduce the load in the opening and closing direction of the back door 2. ing.

The vehicle 1 is provided with an actuator unit 10 for automatically opening and closing the back door 2. The actuator unit 10 includes a connecting rod 11, a slide mechanism 12, and a power unit 13, and the pillar 1 on the vehicle left side adjacent to the back door 2 is provided.
It is arranged in the inside of 4.

The connecting rod 11 has ball sockets 1 at both ends.
5, 16 are provided, and the ball socket 15 is swingably connected to the back door 2 by being engaged with the ball stud 5 of the back door 2.

The slide mechanism 12, as shown in FIG.
It has a channel 20 and a rack bar 21 as a reciprocating member movably arranged inside the channel 20. The channel 20 is formed in the shape of a rectangular pipe having a straight hollow inside, and a slot 22 extending in the axial direction from a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction is formed on a side surface of the channel 20. Further, on the side surface opposite to the side surface where the slot 22 is formed, there is formed a window portion 23 that opens at a substantially middle portion in the longitudinal direction. Rack bar 21
Is formed in the shape of a quadrangular prism whose length dimension is approximately half that of the channel 20, and is reciprocally movable in the channel 20 substantially vertically with respect to the vehicle. A rack gear 24 arranged in the axial direction is formed on a side surface of the rack bar 21 that faces the window portion 23, and a tip portion that is an upper side with respect to the vehicle 1 is formed on a side surface opposite to the side surface on which the rack gear 24 is formed. At, the ball stud 25 is fixed. The ball stud 25 projects to the outside of the channel 20 through the slot 22 and can move along the slot 22 as the rack bar 21 moves. The other end of the connecting rod 11, that is, the ball socket 16 is swingably connected to the ball stud 25. That is, the rack bar 21 and the back door 2 are connected via the connecting rod 11, and the displacement thereof is transmitted to the back door 2 via the connecting rod 11 by reciprocating the rack bar 21 in the axial direction. The back door 2 will be opened and closed.

The power unit 13 has a drive electric motor 30 as a drive source and a power connection / disconnection mechanism 31, and is fixed to the channel 20 at a base plate 32 as a support. A worm gear mechanism 33 is connected to the drive electric motor 30, and is fixed to the base plate 32 integrally with the worm gear mechanism 33. The output of the driving electric motor 30 is decelerated by the worm gear mechanism 33 and is output from the output shaft 34 of the worm gear mechanism 33 whose axial direction is perpendicular to the base plate 32.

The power connecting / disconnecting mechanism 31 has four gears: a drive pinion gear 40 as a drive gear, an output pinion gear 41 as a driven gear, an intermediate gear 42 and a reverse gear 43.

The drive pinion gear 40 is fixed to the output shaft 34 of the worm gear mechanism 33, and is rotatably driven by the worm gear mechanism 33, that is, the driving electric motor 30, and is rotatable on the base plate 32.

The output pinion gear 41 is rotatably provided on the base plate 32 apart from the drive pinion gear 40, and meshes with the rack gear 24 of the rack bar 21 at the window 23. That is, when the output pinion gear 41 rotates, the rotation drives the rack bar 21 as a driven member in the axial direction via the rack gear 24, and the back door 2 is opened and closed.

The intermediate gear 42 is a large-diameter gear 42 having many teeth.
and a small-diameter gear 42b that rotates coaxially and integrally with the large-diameter gear 42a and has fewer teeth than the large-diameter gear 42a. The intermediate gear 42 meshes with the output pinion gear 41 in the small diameter gear 42b.

The reverse gear 43 has a smaller diameter with a smaller number of teeth than the small diameter gear 42b of the intermediate gear 42.
It meshes with the large-diameter gear 42a of the intermediate gear 42.
The rotary shaft 44 of the output pinion gear 41 has the rotary shaft 4
An oscillating plate 45 as an oscillating member is attached to the base plate 32 so that the oscillating plate 4 is an oscillating center. The intermediate gear 42 and the reverse gear 43 are rotatably supported by the swing plate 45. That is, the output pinion gear 41, the intermediate gear 42, and the reverse rotation gear 43 form a gear train, and the rotations are transmitted to each other.

These gears 41, 42, 43 are provided with guide portions 43a, 43b axially projecting annularly on both side surfaces on the outer peripheral side thereof, for example, as shown in the case of the reverse gear 43 in FIG. Has been formed. These guide portions 43a, 43b are arranged close to the swing plate 45 and the base plate 32, and prevent the gears 41, 42, 43 from inclining with respect to the axial direction due to looseness of the shaft or the like. It has become.

By thus preventing the gears 41, 42, 43 from inclining with respect to the axial direction, especially when the reverse gear 43 meshes with the drive pinion gear 40, the teeth of these gears 43, 40 It is set so that the muscle directions are matched and the meshing becomes smooth.

The intermediate gear 42 and the reverse rotation gear 43 are swingable integrally with the swing plate 45 about a rotary shaft 44. The reverse rotation gear 43 swings integrally with the swing plate 45, so that the reverse rotation gear 43 moves between a power transmission position in which the drive gear 40 is engaged and a power cut-off position in which the drive gear 40 is disengaged. There is. At this time, the meshing point between the reverse rotation gear 43 and the drive pinion gear 40 is located outside the swing locus of the center of the rotation shaft of the reverse rotation gear 43. Further, the drive pinion gear 40 and the reverse rotation gear 43 are each formed as a dislocation gear and are formed in a pointed shape to prevent the teeth from running up when the drive pinion gear 40 and the reverse rotation gear 43 mesh with each other. It is like this. When the reverse rotation gear 43 reaches the power transmission position, the rotation of the drive pinion gear 40 is changed to the reverse rotation gear 43 and the intermediate gear 42.
Is transmitted to the output pinion gear 41 via the, and the power transmission between the drive pinion gear 40 and the output pinion gear 41 is blocked when the power is cut off. In the present embodiment, the swing plate 45
Is swingably provided about the rotation shaft 44 of the output pinion gear 41, and the reverse rotation gear 43 is swung between a power transmission position where the drive gear 40 is engaged and a power cut-off position where the drive gear 40 is disengaged. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the swing plate 45 may be swingably provided about the rotation axis of the drive pinion gear 40. In this case, the intermediate gear 42 meshes with the drive pinion gear 40, and the reverse rotation gear 43 meshes with the intermediate gear 42 and swings between a power transmission position meshing with the output pinion gear 41 and a power cut-off position where the meshing with the output pinion gear 41 is disengaged. Will be done. In addition, in the present embodiment, the intermediate gear 42 has a large diameter gear 42a and a small diameter gear 42b provided so as to rotate coaxially and integrally with the large diameter gear 42a. Is transmitted to the output pinion gear 41, but not limited to this, the one-stage deceleration by a normal spur gear or the rotation of the reverse gear 43 is accelerated and transmitted to the output pinion gear 41. Any of those that can transmit the rotation of the reverse rotation gear 43 to the output pinion gear 41 may be used.

The reversing gear 4 is rotated by rocking the rocking plate 45.
A switching mechanism 50 is provided in the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 in order to switch 3 between the power transmission position and the power cut-off position. The switching mechanism 50 includes a drive link 51 as a drive member and a switching electric motor 52 that drives the drive link 51.

One end of the drive link 51 is pin-coupled to the oscillating plate 45 coaxially with the rotary shaft 53 of the intermediate gear 42, and the oscillating plate 45 is reciprocally moved in the longitudinal direction. 45 swings around the rotation shaft 44. Also, the drive link 5
The other end side of 1 is a crank pin 6 provided on a crank plate 60 that is rotatable with respect to the base plate 32.
It is connected to 1.

The crank pin 61 is the crank plate 60.
Is provided so as to be eccentric from the rotation center axis, and is configured to rotate and move around the rotation center axis as the crank plate 60 rotates. Crank plate 60
Is fixed to an output shaft (not shown) of a worm gear mechanism 62 connected to the switching electric motor 52, and the switching electric motor 5 is connected via the worm gear mechanism 62.
It is designed to be rotationally driven to 2. The switching electric motor 52 is controlled by a control device (not shown) so as to rotate the crank plate 60 every 180 degrees, that is, the crank plate 60 connects the drive link 51 to the drive pinion gear 40 as shown in FIG. 4, the reciprocating gear 43 is reciprocated between a position for retreating in the longitudinal direction and a position for advancing the drive link 51 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the drive pinion gear 40, as shown in FIG. And the power cut-off position. At this time, the crank pin 61 is positioned on a straight line connecting the rotation center axis of the crank plate 60 and the rotation shaft 53 when the reverse rotation gear 43 is in the power transmission position and the power cut-off position.

FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) are explanatory views showing a process in which the reverse gear shown in FIG. 3 is switched from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position, and FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (c) are FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a process in which the reverse gear shown in FIG. 3 is switched from a power cutoff position to a power transmission position.

Next, the operation of the actuator unit 10 having such a structure will be described.

When the back door 2 is automatically opened / closed by the driving electric motor 30, the reverse rotation gear 43 operates as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), it is in a power transmission position where it meshes with the drive pinion gear 40, and as shown in FIG. 3, at this time, the drive link 51 is in a position retracted in the longitudinal direction with respect to the drive pinion gear 40. There is. Then, when the drive electric motor 30 operates in this state, the output of the drive electric motor 30 is changed so that the drive pinion gear 40, the reverse gear 43, the intermediate gear 42, and the output pinion gear 41.
It is transmitted to the rack bar 21 via and and the back door 2 is opened and closed.

From this state, when it is detected by a sensor (not shown) that the back door 2 is manually opened or closed, the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 operates between the drive electric motor 30 and the rack bar 21. In order to cut off the transmission of the power of, the power transmission state is switched to the power cutoff state. That is, the reverse rotation gear 43 is moved from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position.

To switch from the power transmission state to the power cut-off state, the reverse rotation gear 43 is moved from the power transmission position shown in FIG. 6 (a) through the position shown in FIG. 6 (b) to the power cut-off position shown in FIG. 6 (c). It is done by moving to. for that reason,
The crank plate 60 is attached to the switching electric motor 52.
It is driven to rotate by 80 degrees, and the drive link 51 is moved from a position retracted in the longitudinal direction with respect to the drive pinion gear 40 shown in FIG. 3 to a position advanced in the longitudinal direction with respect to the drive pinion gear 40 shown in FIG. become. And
By the operation of the drive link 51, the swing plate 45 is moved in the arrow direction shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the intermediate gear 42 is the stopped output pinion gear 4
By moving in a state in which it meshes with 1, it is rotated in the clockwise direction in the figure, that is, in the same direction as the moving direction along with the movement. The reverse gear 43 is the intermediate gear 4
By engaging with 2 and moving, the rotation of the intermediate gear 42 is transmitted with the movement, and the intermediate gear 42 is rotated in the direction opposite to the intermediate gear 42, that is, in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the swing plate 45. The intermediate gear 42 here,
With the moving directions of the reverse rotation gear 43 and the swing plate 45,
It is a direction along an arcuate locus around the rotation shaft 44 of the output pinion gear 41 and a clockwise direction in the figure, and the reverse rotation gear 43 rotates in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the swing plate 45. This means that the oscillating plate 45 rotates counterclockwise in the figure with respect to the moving direction of the oscillating plate 45, which is the clockwise direction in the figure.

Therefore, since the reverse rotation gear 43 is moved while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, the tooth C meshing with the teeth A and B of the drive pinion gear 40 shown in FIG. 6A.
As shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the meshing is disengaged with respect to the teeth A and B with little movement in the tooth width direction. That is, the reverse gear 43 is disengaged so that the tooth surface of the tooth C is separated from the tooth surface of the tooth A. Therefore, a large resistance force does not occur between the teeth A and B and the tooth C,
The reverse rotation gear 43 can be smoothly disengaged from the drive pinion gear 40. This is because, for example, when the back door 2 is fully opened, the load is applied to the reverse rotation gear 43 via the rack bar 21, the output pinion gear 41 and the intermediate gear 42, and the frictional force between the tooth C and the tooth A or the tooth B is increased. Even if the number of teeth is increased, the tooth C moves less than the tooth A or the tooth B in the tooth width direction, so the influence thereof is small and the smooth disengagement of the reverse gear 43 is maintained. be able to.

As described above, in the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 of the present invention, the reverse gear 43 moved from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position is disengaged from the drive pinion gear 40 while rotating in the opposite direction. Therefore, the resistance force between the gears is suppressed and the reverse rotation gear 43 is smoothly disengaged from the drive pinion gear 40, and the reliability of the operation of the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 can be improved.

Further, in the power interruption mechanism 31 of the present invention,
The tooth C of the reverse rotation gear 43 is the tooth A of the drive pinion gear 40,
Since it is disengaged with respect to B in a state where the movement in the tooth width direction is small, the backlash of the reverse rotation gear 43 and the drive pinion gear 40 can be set to a small value so that noise is not generated.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b),
When the reverse rotation gear 43 disengages from the drive pinion gear 40, the drive pinion gear 40 may be rotationally driven by the drive electric motor 30 in the disengagement support direction shown by the arrow in the figure. In this case, the separation support direction is opposite to the moving direction of the reverse rotation gear 43, that is, the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. As a result, the reverse gear 43 has the tooth C
Is pushed by the tooth B, a force is applied from the drive pinion gear 40 in the disengagement direction, and the tooth A of the tooth C,
The amount of movement in the width direction with respect to B is further reduced. Therefore, the reverse rotation gear 43 can be disengaged from the drive pinion gear 40 more smoothly.

As described above, in the power connecting / disconnecting mechanism 31 of the present invention, when the reverse rotation gear 43 moves from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position, the drive pinion gear 40 is changed to the reverse rotation gear 43.
Since the driving electric motor 30 is rotationally driven in the disengagement support direction opposite to the moving direction of the reverse rotation gear, the disengagement of the reverse rotation gear 43 is assisted from the drive pinion gear 40 side, and the separation of the reverse rotation gear 43. Is further smoothed, and the reliability of the operation of the power interrupting mechanism 31 can be improved.

On the other hand, the switching of the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 from the power cut-off state to the power transmission state is performed by setting the reverse rotation gear 43 in FIG.
This is performed by moving from the power cut-off position shown in (a) to the power transmission position shown in FIG. 7 (c) through the position shown in FIG. 7 (b). Therefore, the crank plate 60 is driven to rotate by 180 degrees by the switching electric motor 52, and the drive link 51 is extended from the position where the drive link 51 is extended in the longitudinal direction with respect to the drive pinion gear 40 shown in FIG. 4 to the drive pinion gear 40 shown in FIG. It will be moved to a position retracted in the longitudinal direction. By the operation of the drive link 51, the swing plate 45 is moved in the arrow direction shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b).

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the intermediate gear 42 is the stopped output pinion gear 4
By moving in a state in which it meshes with 1, it is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing, that is, in the same direction as the moving direction along with the movement. Further, the reverse rotation gear 43 moves by meshing with the intermediate gear 42, the rotation of the intermediate gear 42 is transmitted along with the movement, and the rotation is in the opposite direction to the intermediate gear 42, that is, the opposite direction to the moving direction of the swing plate 45. Will be rotated. The intermediate gear 42 here
The moving direction of the oscillating plate 45 is a direction along an arcuate locus around the rotation shaft 44 of the output pinion gear 41 and is a counterclockwise direction in the figure, and the reversing gear 43 is the oscillating plate. Rotation in the direction opposite to the movement direction of 45 indicates rotation in the clockwise direction in the figure with respect to the movement direction of the swing plate 45, which is the counterclockwise direction in the figure.

Therefore, the reverse gear 43 is moved while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the oscillating plate 45, so that the teeth C of the reverse gear 43 shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), the teeth A and B of the drive pinion gear 40 are engaged with each other in a state where the teeth A and B are less moved in the width direction. That is, the reverse gear 43 is meshed so that the tooth surface of the tooth C is separated from the tooth surface of the tooth B. Therefore, the tooth C smoothly meshes with the teeth A and B, and the reverse rotation gear 43 can smoothly mesh with the drive pinion gear 40. Also, the reverse gear 43
Since the tooth C meshes with the teeth A and B with little movement in the tooth width direction, for example, when the tooth C rides on the tooth A or the tooth B, the reverse rotation gear 43 rides on the drive pinion gear 40. The frequency will decrease.

As described above, in the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 of the present invention, the reverse gear 43 moving from the power cut-off position to the power transmission position meshes with the drive pinion gear 40 while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, so that the reverse rotation is performed. The frequency of riding of the gear 43 on the drive pinion gear 40 is reduced, and the reliability of the operation of the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 can be improved.

Further, in the power interruption mechanism 31 of the present invention,
Since the reverse rotation gear 43 can be smoothly meshed and disengaged, the driving force of the switching electric motor 52 for moving the reverse rotation gear 43, that is, the power consumption can be reduced. Further, as a result, the switching electric motor 52 can be made smaller with a smaller output, and the power interruption mechanism 31 can be made smaller and lighter.

Further, in the power intermittent mechanism 31 of the present invention,
Crank plate 60 by switching electric motor 52
When the reverse rotation gear 43 reaches the power transmission position and the power cut-off position by rotating the crankshaft every 180 degrees, the crank pin 61 is positioned on the straight line connecting the rotation center axis of the crank plate 60 and the rotation axis 53. Therefore, at each of the positions, the drive link 51 is not easily moved by the reaction force or the like that the reverse rotation gear 43 receives from the drive pinion gear 40 side. Further, since power supply to the switching electric motor 52 is cut off at each of the above-mentioned positions, power consumption can be reduced. Therefore, by the drive link 51,
The reverse rotation gear 43 can be stably held at the power transmission position and the power cutoff position.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the power connection / disconnection mechanism 31 is provided in the power unit 13 of the actuator unit 10 that automatically opens / closes the back door 2 that is openably / closably mounted on the vehicle 1. However, the invention is not limited thereto. It may be applied to any one as long as it has a drive gear that is rotationally driven by a drive source such as an electric motor or an internal combustion engine, and a driven gear that transmits the rotation of the drive gear.

Further, in the present embodiment, the drive link 51 is reciprocated by the switching electric motor 52 via the crank plate 60 and the crank pin 61, but the invention is not limited to this, and the reverse gear 43 may be used. May be operated by other driving means as long as it can be moved to each of the power transmission position and the power cut-off position, and
Manual switching may be used.

[0055]

According to the present invention, the reverse gear that moves from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position disengages from the drive gear or the driven gear while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, so that the resistance force between the gears is reduced. As a result, the disengagement is suppressed and the disengagement is smoothly performed, and the reliability of the operation of the power interrupting mechanism can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, when the reverse gear is disengaged from the drive gear, the drive source rotationally drives the drive gear in the disengagement support direction opposite to the swing direction of the reverse gear. The disengagement of the reverse gear is assisted from the drive gear side, and the reliability of the operation of this power connection / disconnection mechanism can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the reverse gear that moves from the power cut-off position to the power transmission position meshes with the drive gear or the driven gear while rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction, so that the riding of the gear is suppressed. Will be done,
It is possible to improve the reliability of the operation of the power interrupting mechanism.

Further, according to the present invention, since the reverse rotation gear can be smoothly meshed and disengaged, the driving force for moving the reverse rotation gear can be reduced. Further, the power switching mechanism can be made smaller and lighter by making the switching electric motor smaller and having a smaller output.

Further, according to the present invention, since the reverse rotation gear is engaged with and disengaged from the drive pinion gear in a state in which the movement in the tooth width direction is small, the backlash of the reverse rotation gear and the drive pinion gear is reduced. It can be set small enough to prevent noise.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a part of a vehicle having an actuator unit including a power connecting / disconnecting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention and showing a back door in a fully closed state.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a part of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 when a back door is in a fully opened state.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing details of the actuator unit shown in FIG. 1 in a power transmission state.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing details of the actuator shown in FIG. 3 when the power is cut off.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG.

6A to 6C are explanatory views showing a process in which the reverse rotation gear shown in FIG. 3 is switched from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position.

7A to 7C are explanatory views showing a process in which the reverse gear shown in FIG. 3 is switched from the power cut-off position to the power transmission position.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 vehicle 2 back door 3 vehicle roof 4 hinges 5 ball studs 6 gas damper 10 Actuator unit 11 Connecting rod 12 Slide mechanism 13 Power unit 14 pillars 15,16 ball socket 20 channels 21 Rack Bar 22 slots 23 Window 24 rack gear 25 ball studs 30 Electric motor for driving 31 Power interruption mechanism 32 base plate 33 Worm gear mechanism 34 Output shaft 40 drive pinion gear 41 output pinion gear 42 Middle gear 42a large diameter gear 42b small diameter gear 43 Reverse gear 44 rotation axis 45 swing plate 50 switching mechanism 51 drive link 52 Electric motor for switching 53 rotation axis 60 crank plate 61 crank pin 62 Worm gear mechanism A, B, C teeth

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takashi Hoshino             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shioiri Politics             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takao Ochiai             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3J009 DA04 EA05 EA11 EA21 EA32                       EA42 EB17 EC07 ED03 ED11                       FA04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A drive gear rotatably provided on a support base and rotatably driven by a drive source; a driven gear rotatably provided on the support base for driving a driven member; the drive gear; A swinging member provided so as to swing around one of the rotation shafts of the driven gear, and one of the drive gear and the driven gear meshes with the swinging member and is rotatably supported by the swinging member. An intermediate gear that is swingable about the rotation axis of the one gear, and rotatably supported by the swing member by meshing with the intermediate gear, and the drive gear about the rotation axis of the one gear. A reverse gear that is swingable between a power transmission position that meshes with one of the other gears of the driven gear and a power cut-off position that disengages, and moves between the power transmission position and the power cut-off position. When you do Power interrupting mechanism the reversing gear, characterized in that rotate in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the swinging member. 2. The power connection / disconnection mechanism according to claim 1,
A power interrupting mechanism in which the swinging member is driven by a drive member that is reciprocally moved in the longitudinal direction by a switching electric motor. 3. The power connecting / disconnecting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the swing member is swingably provided about a rotation shaft of the driven gear, and the reverse gear meshes with the drive gear. A power interrupting mechanism that swings between a power transmission position and the power cut-off position where the mesh is disengaged. 4. The power interrupting mechanism according to claim 3,
When the reverse rotation gear moves from the power transmission position to the power cutoff position, the drive gear is rotationally driven by the drive source in a disengagement support direction opposite to the moving direction of the reverse rotation gear. Power interruption mechanism. 5. The power connecting / disconnecting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the driven gear is meshed with a rack gear formed on a reciprocating member provided on the vehicle so as to reciprocate, and the reciprocating gear is reciprocated. A power connecting / disconnecting mechanism in which an opening / closing member that is openably / closably mounted on the vehicle is automatically opened / closed by reciprocating the moving member.