JP2005083466A - Polymer actuator and clutch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polymer actuator for generating great axial output. <P>SOLUTION: A coating of a conductive polymeric material is formed around a solid electrolyte. A plurality of conductive polymer tubes are combined whose coatings elongate when the potential of the conductive polymeric material is higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte. The combined conductive polymer tubes are spirally coiled to form an actuator element 29. The actuator element 29 with its diameter being restricted from expanding is stored in a cylinder 27 and a piston 28 slidably fitted to each other and the actuator element 29 elongates with the potential of the conductive polymeric material being higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte. Then, the actuator element 29 with its diameter restricted from expanding is deformed to elongate in the axial direction of coiling, and so the piston 28 is pushed out of the cylinder 27 and the polymer actuator A generates great axial output. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a polymer actuator using a conductive polymer material that expands and contracts by exchanging negative ions with a solid electrolyte, and a clutch device using the polymer actuator as a drive source.

  A polymer actuator is constructed by sandwiching an electrolyte layer between two plate-like conductive polymers, and one conductive polymer is stretched by applying a positive potential and a negative potential to both conductive polymers, respectively. Patent Document 1 below discloses that a polymer actuator is driven in a bending direction by contracting the other conductive polymer.

In addition, an electromagnetic clutch that engages the clutch disk and the clutch plate with the pressing force of the armature that is attracted to the core by the excitation of the coil is adopted in the clutch device arranged in the power transmission system of the automobile, and the fastening force is large. It is known from Patent Document 2 below that the length is controlled by the magnitude of the current supplied to the coil.
JP 2003-152234 A JP 2002-2111259 A

  However, since the conventional polymer actuator generates an output in the form of a curved conductive polymer, its use is not limited, and the output is not sufficient. In addition, when the air gap between the core and the arm increases as the wear amount of the clutch disk and the clutch plate increases, the conventional electromagnetic clutch gradually decreases its engagement response or cannot obtain a stable engagement force. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a polymer actuator capable of generating a large axial output and to provide a clutch device having high fastening response using the polymer actuator. And

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a film of a conductive polymer material is formed around the solid electrolyte, and the potential of the conductive polymer material is made higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte. Bundling a plurality of conductive polymer tubes that extend the film when the height is raised, and storing the actuator element in which the bundled conductive polymer tubes are spirally wound inside the casing in a state where the diameter expansion is restricted. There is proposed a polymer actuator characterized in that when the potential of the conductive polymer material is made higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte, the actuator element has a deformation that extends in the direction of the winding axis in the casing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clutch device using the polymer actuator according to the first aspect, wherein the first frictional engagement element supported by the first member and the second member are supported. A clutch device is proposed in which the second frictional engagement element is integrally engaged by the actuation force of the polymer actuator.

  The housing 20 of the embodiment corresponds to the first member of the present invention, the sleeve 21 of the embodiment corresponds to the second member of the present invention, and the clutch plates 22L and 22R of the embodiment are the first frictional engagement of the present invention. The clutch disks 24L and 24R of the embodiment correspond to the second friction engagement element of the present invention, and the cylinder 27 and the piston 28 of the embodiment correspond to the casing of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of claim 1, the actuator element in which a plurality of bundles of conductive polymer tubes in which a film of a conductive polymer material is formed around the solid electrolyte is spirally wound is housed inside the casing. When the potential of the conductive polymer material is made higher than that of the solid electrolyte and the actuator element is extended in the casing, the actuator element whose diameter is restricted by the casing is extended in the winding axis direction. Deformation increases the versatility of the polymer actuator by generating a large axial output.

  According to the structure of Claim 2, the 1st friction engagement element supported by the 1st member and the 2nd friction engagement element supported by the 2nd member are integrally engaged by the axial direction output of the said polymer actuator. Therefore, even if the first and second friction engagement elements wear and the clutch clearance increases, by applying a predetermined voltage to the polymer actuator in advance when the clutch device is not engaged, The clutch clearance can be adjusted to an appropriate size to ensure the fastening response of the clutch device.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a driving force distribution device, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part 2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of four parts of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conductive polymer tube, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of the driving force distribution device when turning left in the middle and low vehicle speed range, FIG. These are figures which show the effect | action of the driving force distribution apparatus at the time of the right turn in a medium-low vehicle speed area.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a transmission M is connected to the left end of an engine E mounted horizontally on the front body of a front engine / front drive vehicle, and a driving force distribution device is arranged at the rear of the engine E and transmission M. T is arranged. A left front wheel WFL and a right front wheel WFR are connected to the left drive shaft AL and the right drive shaft AR that extend left and right from the left end and the right end of the driving force distribution device T, respectively.

  The driving force distribution device T includes a differential device D that transmits a driving force from an external gear 3 that meshes with an input gear 2 provided on an input shaft 1 that extends from a transmission M. The differential device D is composed of a double pinion planetary gear mechanism, and a ring gear 4 formed integrally with the external gear 3, a sun gear 5 disposed coaxially inside the ring gear 4, and the ring gear 4. The outer planetary gear 6 that meshes with the planetary carrier 8 that supports the inner planetary gear 7 that meshes with the sun gear 5 in a state where they mesh with each other. In the differential device D, the ring gear 4 functions as an input element, and the sun gear 5 that functions as one output element is connected to the right front wheel WFR via the right output shaft 9R, and the planetary that functions as the other output element. The carrier 8 is connected to the left front wheel WFL via the left output shaft 9L.

  The driving force distribution device T includes torque transmission means 10 that transmits torque between the left and right front wheels WFL, WFR. The carrier member 11 of the torque transmission means 10 is rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R, and each of the four pinion shafts 12 arranged at intervals of 90 ° in the circumferential direction has a first pinion 13, A triple pinion member 16 integrally formed with the second pinion 14 and the third pinion 15 is rotatably supported.

  A first sun gear 17 that is rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R and meshes with the first pinion 13 is connected to the planetary carrier 8 of the differential device D. The second sun gear 18 fixed to the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R meshes with the second pinion 14. Further, the third sun gear 19 rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R meshes with the third pinion 15.

  The number of teeth of the first pinion 13, the second pinion 14, the third pinion 15, the first sun gear 17, the second sun gear 18, and the third sun gear 19 in the embodiment is as follows.

Number of teeth of the first pinion 13 Zb = 17
Number of teeth of second pinion 14 Zd = 17
Number of teeth of third pinion 15 Zf = 34
Number of teeth of the first sun gear 17 Za = 32
Number of teeth of second sun gear 18 Zc = 28
Number of teeth of the third sun gear 19 Ze = 32
The third sun gear 19 can be coupled to the housing 20 of the torque transmission means 10 via the right clutch CR, and the rotation speed of the carrier member 11 is increased by the engagement of the right clutch CR. The carrier member 11 can be coupled to the housing 20 via the left clutch CL, and the rotation speed of the carrier member 11 is reduced by the engagement of the left clutch CL. The left clutch CL and the right clutch CR are controlled by an electronic control unit U including a microcomputer.

  The electronic control unit U calculates the engine torque Te, the engine speed Ne, the vehicle speed V, and the steering angle θ based on a predetermined program, and controls the left clutch CL and the right clutch CR.

  Next, the structure of the differential device D and the torque transmission means 10 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  The ring gear 4 and the external gear 3 of the differential device D composed of a planetary gear mechanism are sandwiched between a left side plate 36 and a right side plate 37 and fixed by a plurality of bolts 38. A cylindrical support portion 37a formed on the right side plate 37 is supported by a torque converter case 39 also serving as a casing of the differential device D via a roller bearing 40, and the outer periphery of the support portion 36a formed on the left side plate 36 is a roller. While being supported by the torque converter case 39 via the bearing 35, the outer periphery of the left output shaft 9L is fitted to the inner periphery of the support portion 36a so as to be relatively rotatable. The planetary carrier 8 is formed by connecting the left side plate 41 and the right side plate 42 with a plurality of bolts 43, and the left output shaft 9 </ b> L is splined to a connecting portion 41 a formed on the left side plate 41. A cylindrical sleeve 44 fitted to the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R is supported by the right output shaft 9R through a needle bearing 45 and supported by the torque converter case 39 through a ball bearing 46. The coupling portion 42 a formed integrally with the right side plate 42 and the left end of the sleeve 44 are spline coupled, and the first sun gear 17 of the triple pinion member 16 is spline coupled to the right end of the sleeve 44. The sun gear 5 is supported on the outer periphery of the coupling portion 41a of the left side plate 41 through a needle bearing 47 so as to be relatively rotatable, and the left end of the right output shaft 9R is spline coupled to the coupling portion 5a formed integrally with the right end thereof. .

  The left end of the housing 20 of the torque transmission means 10 is fitted to the right end of the torque converter case 39, and the left and right ends of the carrier member 11 of the torque transmission means 10 are connected to the torque converter case 39 and the housing 20 by a pair of ball bearings 48 and 49. Each is supported. The second sun gear 18 of the triple pinion member 16 is splined to the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R, and the third sun gear 19 of the triple pinion member 16 is fitted to the outer periphery of the right output shaft 9R so as to be relatively rotatable. It is formed integrally with the left end of.

  Next, the structure of the left and right clutches CL and CR will be described with reference to FIG. The left and right clutches CL and CR have a structure that is substantially symmetric with respect to the symmetry plane P perpendicular to the axis L of the left and right output shafts 9L and 9R. explain. The reference numerals of the components of the left clutch CL are obtained by changing the suffix “R” of the components of the right clutch CR to “L”.

  Five clutch plates 22R and one stopper plate 23R are spline-fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 20 so as to be non-rotatable and axially movable, and are alternately overlapped with the clutch plates 22R and the stopper plates 23R. The five clutch disks 24R thus formed are spline-fitted to the guide portion 25R provided on the outer periphery of the right end of the sleeve 21 so as not to rotate but to move in the axial direction. A plurality of (for example, eight) polymer actuators A are arranged around the axis L at equal intervals between the leftmost clutch plate 22R and the housing 20.

  The clutch disc 24L of the left clutch CL is spline-fitted to the guide portion 25L integral with the carrier member 11 so as not to rotate but to move in the axial direction.

  As apparent from FIG. 4, the polymer actuator A includes a cylindrical cylinder 27 with a bottom fitted into the recess 20 a of the housing 20 and locked by a clip 26, and slidable within the cylinder 27. A bottomed cylindrical piston 28 that can be fitted and press the clutch plate 22R at the left end, and an actuator element 29 that is spirally wound and accommodated in a cylindrical space defined by the cylinder 27 and the piston 28. Prepare. The actuator element 29 is obtained by bundling about 100 conductive polymer tubes 30 shown in FIG. 5 and fixing the both ends thereof by fixing with fixing rings 31 and 31 (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the conductive polymer tube 30 covers a coil member 32 in which a thin metal wire is wound in a coil shape with a thin film (for example, 20 μm thick) of a conductive polymer material 33, and a solid electrolyte is contained therein. 34 is configured. The diameter of the conductive polymer tube 30 is about 0.25 mm, and the diameter of the actuator element 29 bundled with the conductive polymer tube 30 is about 4.5 mm.

  The conductive polymer material 33 is composed of, for example, one or a mixture of polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, and derivatives thereof. The solid electrolyte 34 includes a lithium salt used for the nonaqueous battery electrolyte, a solvent that dissolves the lithium salt, and a polymer matrix that holds the solvent. When a positive potential and a negative potential are applied to the conductive polymer material 33 and the solid electrolyte 34, respectively, negative ions in the solid electrolyte 34 are absorbed and expanded by the conductive polymer material 33. Conversely, the conductive polymer material 33 is expanded. When a negative potential and a positive potential are applied to the solid electrolyte 34, negative ions in the solid electrolyte 34 are released from the conductive polymer material 33 and contract. At this time, the conductive polymer material 33 can generate an expansion ratio of about 15% and an output of about 22 MPa with only a voltage of 1 V to 3 V, and stretches with a response time of about 0.2 seconds. The state and the contraction state can be switched.

  Accordingly, a positive voltage is applied to the conductive polymer material 33 of the conductive polymer tube 30 of the actuator element 29 of the polymer actuator A in order to fasten the right clutch CR in accordance with a command from the electronic control unit U, thereby solid electrolyte 34. When a negative voltage is applied to the actuator element 29, the actuator element 29 extends in the longitudinal direction. At this time, the actuator element 29 spirally wound and accommodated in the cylindrical space defined by the cylinder 27 and the piston 28 cannot expand in the direction in which the diameter of the spiral increases. The cylinder 28 is driven to extend in a direction that pushes the piston 28 from the cylinder 27 while rotating in the direction. As a result, the clutch plate 22R and the clutch disc 24R are engaged, and the clutch plate 22R that is spline-fitted to the housing 20 and the clutch disc 24R that is spline-fitted to the guide portion 25R are integrated to support the guide portion 25R. A sleeve 21 is coupled to the housing 20.

  Similarly, a positive voltage is applied to the conductive polymer material 33 of the conductive polymer tube 30 of the actuator element 29 of the polymer actuator A in order to fasten the left clutch CL in accordance with a command from the electronic control unit U. When a negative voltage is applied to the electrolyte 34, the actuator element 29 is extended and driven in a direction to push the piston 28 out of the cylinder 27. As a result, the clutch plate 22L that is spline-fitted to the housing 20 and the clutch disk 24L that is spline-fitted to the guide portion 25L provided on the outer periphery of the right end of the carrier member 11 are integrated, and the carrier member 11 that supports the guide portion 25L. Is coupled to the housing 20.

  With the driving force distribution device T having the above-described configuration, the carrier member 11 is mounted on the housing by engaging the left clutch CL in response to a command from the electronic control unit U when turning left in the middle and low vehicle speed range of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 20 to stop rotation. At this time, the right output shaft 9R integral with the right front wheel WFR and the left output shaft 9L integral with the left front wheel WFL (that is, the planetary carrier 8 of the differential device D) are the second sun gear 18, the second pinion 14, Since it is connected via the first pinion 13 and the first sun gear 17, the rotational speed NR of the right front wheel WFR is increased with respect to the rotational speed NL of the left front wheel WFL according to the following equation.

NR / NL = (Zd / Zc) × (Za / Zb)
= 1.143 (1)
When the rotational speed NR of the right front wheel WFR is increased with respect to the rotational speed NL of the left front wheel WFL as described above, the left front wheel WFL that is the turning inner wheel is indicated by the hatched arrow in FIG. Is transmitted to the right front wheel WFR, which is the outer turning wheel, and the left turning of the vehicle is assisted to improve the turning performance.

  Instead of stopping the carrier member 11 with the left clutch CL, if the rotational speed of the carrier member 11 is reduced by appropriately adjusting the fastening force of the left clutch CL, the rotational speed NR of the right front wheel WFR is reduced according to the deceleration. The speed is increased with respect to the rotation speed NL of the left front wheel WFL, and an arbitrary torque can be transmitted from the left front wheel WFL that is the turning inner wheel to the right front wheel WFR that is the turning outer wheel.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when turning right in the middle and low vehicle speed range of the vehicle, the right clutch CR is engaged by a command from the electronic control unit U, so that the sleeve 21 is coupled to the housing 20 and stops rotating. To do. As a result, since the third pinion 15 connected to the sleeve 21 via the third sun gear 19 also stops rotating, the rotational speed of the carrier member 11 is increased with respect to the rotational speed of the right output shaft 9R, and the left front wheel The rotation speed NL of the WFL is increased according to the following equation with respect to the rotation speed NR of the right front wheel WFR.

NL / NR = {1- (Ze / Zf) × (Zb / Za)}
÷ {1- (Ze / Zf) × (Zd / Zc)}
= 1.167 (2)
When the rotation speed NL of the left front wheel WFL is increased with respect to the rotation speed NR of the right front wheel WFR as described above, the right front wheel WFR that is the turning inner wheel is indicated by the hatched arrow in FIG. A part of the torque can be transmitted to the left front wheel WFL which is a turning outer wheel. Also in this case, if the rotational force of the carrier member 11 is increased by appropriately adjusting the engaging force of the right clutch CR, the rotational speed NL of the left front wheel WFL is changed to the rotational speed NR of the right front wheel WFR according to the increased speed. On the other hand, an arbitrary torque can be transmitted from the right front wheel WFR, which is the inner turning wheel, to the left front wheel WFL, which is the outer turning wheel, to assist the right turning of the vehicle and improve the turning performance.

  Also in this case, instead of stopping the sleeve 21 with the right clutch CR, if the rotational speed of the sleeve 21 is decelerated by appropriately adjusting the fastening force of the right clutch CR, the rotational speed NL of the left front wheel WFL according to the deceleration. Can be increased with respect to the rotational speed NR of the right front wheel WFR, and arbitrary torque can be transmitted from the right front wheel WFR that is the turning inner wheel to the left front wheel WFL that is the turning outer wheel.

  As is clear from the comparison of the expressions (1) and (2), the number of teeth of the first pinion 13, the second pinion 14, the third pinion 15, the first sun gear 17, the second sun gear 18, and the third sun gear 19 is determined. By setting as described above, the speed increase rate from the left front wheel WFL to the right front wheel WFR (about 1.143) and the speed increase rate from the right front wheel WFR to the left front wheel WFL (about 1.167) are made substantially equal. Can do.

  In order to release the engagement of the left and right clutches CL and CR, a negative voltage is applied to the conductive polymer material 33 of the conductive polymer tube 30 of the actuator element 29 of the polymer actuator A to apply a positive voltage to the solid electrolyte 34. Is applied, the actuator element 29 contracts inside the cylinder 27 and the piston 28. At this time, the piston 28 is pushed back into the cylinder 27 by the contact reaction force of the clutch plates 22L and 22R and the clutch disks 24L and 24R, so that the engagement of the left and right clutches CL and CR is released.

  As described above, the actuator element 29 in which a large number of bundles of conductive polymer tubes 30 each having a film of the conductive polymer material 33 formed around the solid electrolyte 34 are spirally wound is used as the cylinder 27 and the piston 28. Since the polymer actuator A is configured by being housed inside, the extension force of each conductive polymer tube 30 is effectively converted into the thrust of the piston 28, and the high-power and highly versatile polymer actuator is obtained. A can be obtained.

  In addition, by providing load sensors in the left and right clutches CL and CR, the clutch clearance associated with wear of the clutch plates 22L and 22R and the clutch disks 24L and 24R is monitored, and the polymer actuator A is increased by the amount of increase in the clutch clearance. By driving to extend, it is possible to always secure the optimum clutch clearance and maximize the engagement response of the left and right clutches CL and CR.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the polymer actuator A of claim 1 can be applied to any use other than the clutches CL and CR of the embodiment.

The figure which shows the structure of the driving force distribution device 2 enlarged view of FIG. 3 enlarged view of FIG. 4 enlarged view of FIG. Perspective view of conductive polymer tube The figure which shows the action of the driving force distribution device at the time of the left turn in the middle and low vehicle speed range The figure which shows the operation of the driving force distribution device at the time of the right turn in the middle and low vehicle speed range

Explanation of symbols

20 Housing (first member)
21 Sleeve (second member)
22L Clutch plate (first friction engagement element)
22R Clutch plate (first friction engagement element)
24L clutch disc (second friction engagement element)
24R clutch disc (second friction engagement element)
27 Cylinder (casing)
28 Piston (casing)
29 Actuator element 30 Conductive polymer tube 33 Conductive polymer material 34 Solid electrolyte A Polymer actuator

Claims (2)

  A film of the conductive polymer material (33) is formed around the solid electrolyte (34), and the film expands when the potential of the conductive polymer material (33) is higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte (34). A plurality of conductive polymer tubes (30) to be bundled and an actuator element (29) in which the bundled conductive polymer tubes (30) are spirally wound are expanded in the casing (27, 28). The actuator element (29) is housed in the winding axis direction in the casing (27, 28) when stored in a regulated state and the potential of the conductive polymer material (33) is higher than the potential of the solid electrolyte (34). A polymer actuator characterized in that an elongating deformation is used as an actuation force. A clutch device using the polymer actuator (A) according to claim 1,
The first friction engagement element (22L, 22R) supported by the first member (20) and the second friction engagement element (24L, 24R) supported by the second member (21) are combined with the polymer actuator (A). A clutch device characterized by being integrally engaged with each other by an actuating force.

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