JP2006153034A - Rotary damper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a rotary damper in a radial direction: to provide a lock mechanism with a few assembling man-hours: and to prevent any damage when high torque is applied to the rotary damper. <P>SOLUTION: A fluid chamber 10 is provided between one side 7a of a flange 7 arranged on a shaft member 2 and a base of 3a of a casing 1, the fluid chambers 10 is partitioned into two or more of damper chambers with a partition wall 5 of the casing 1 and a vane 8 of the shaft member 2, and consequently, damping effects at the time of rotation can be obtained by flow resistance of flowing fluid from one damper chamber to the other damper chamber. A braking plate 12, an elastic body 13 pushing the braking plate to the other side 7b of the flange 7, and a seal mechanism 14 blocking between the braking plate 12 and fluid chamber 10 are provided at the other side 7b side of the flange 7. A projected section on either of the other side 7b of the flange and a side 12b of the braking plate and a recessed section on the other flange are provided, the projected section and recessed section are engaged with each other in a locked state, and the shaft member 2 can move to an axial direction by resisting elastic force of the elastic body 13 when either of the damper chambers exceeds a designated pressure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary damper provided with a self-standing mechanism for preventing a rotating body such as a toilet seat or toilet lid of a toilet bowl or a piano lid from falling down while maintaining an upright state.

For example, in order to maintain the state which opened the lid | cover of the piano etc., there exists a thing like patent document 1 as a rotation damper which has a self-supporting mechanism.
In the self-supporting mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1, a first needle and a second needle are provided on a rotating shaft and a cylindrical outer frame installed on the outer peripheral side of the rotating shaft, respectively. The first needle is fitted in a concave groove provided on the outer periphery of the rotary shaft, and the second needle is fitted in a slit provided in the outer frame. Furthermore, a C-shaped leaf spring is mounted on the outer side of the outer frame, and the elastic force of the leaf spring acts toward the rotation axis.

In such a self-supporting mechanism, when a rotating shaft such as a lid or the like is applied with a rotating torque in an opening direction or a closing direction to rotate the rotating shaft, the first needle and the second needle collide with each other during the rotation, and the direction The rotation is controlled. The rotation body keeps an upright state by this rotation restriction. When a rotational torque that overcomes the elastic force of the leaf spring is given from this state, the first needle pushes the second needle to rotate the rotation shaft. Yes.
JP-A-8-182635

In such a self-supporting mechanism, it is necessary to provide an outer frame and a leaf spring for fitting the first and second needles and holding the second needle on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft, so that the diameter of the entire rotary damper becomes large. There was a problem. Therefore, the installation location of the rotary damper may be limited.
Further, in order to expand the leaf spring, a force is required, and the work of attaching a thin needle while expanding the leaf spring takes time and effort, resulting in poor assembly efficiency.
Further, the rotary damper as described above is used by being attached to a rotating body such as a toilet seat. When the toilet seat is raised, the toilet seat is kept upright, and when the lock mechanism is released to lower it, The damper effect can be exerted so as to prevent the toilet seat and the like from rotating gently even if they are released and falling down vigorously. However, when trying to forcefully push down using the hand when the toilet seat is lowered, high pressure acts on a component of the toilet seat, lid, etc., or a part of the damper mechanism, or a component of the toilet seat, lid, etc. Parts with low strength, such as damper mechanisms, could be damaged.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a rotation stop mechanism that can be reduced in the diameter direction and that can reduce the number of assembly steps, and that does not break even when a high torque is temporarily applied. Is to provide.

  The present invention comprises a casing and a shaft member that is rotatable relative to the casing and that is relatively movable in the axial direction and is incorporated in the casing. The shaft member is provided with a flange, and one side surface of the flange A fluid chamber is formed between the casing and the bottom surface of the casing facing the side surface, and at least one partition wall whose tip is opposed to the shaft member is provided on the inner surface of the casing in the fluid chamber. At least one vane portion opposed to the inner surface is provided, and the axial end surfaces of the partition wall and the blade portion are brought into contact with the bottom surface of the casing and one side surface of the flange of the shaft member, and the bottom surface, one side surface of the flange, the partition wall And the blade portion together define the fluid chamber into at least two damper chambers, and the shaft member and the casing rotate relative to each other. , And a damper mechanism which exerts a damping effect by the flow resistance of the fluid flowing from one damper chamber to the other damper chamber.

  And this invention can be moved to an axial direction with respect to the said casing between the other side surface of the flange of the said shaft member, and the casing inner surface facing this side surface, and was made non-rotatable with respect to the casing. A brake plate and an elastic body that presses the brake plate against the other side surface of the flange; and a seal mechanism that blocks between the brake plate and the fluid chamber; and the other side surface of the flange; A convex portion is provided on any one of the side surfaces of the braking plate facing the side surface, a concave portion is provided on the other surface, and the convex portion and the concave portion are engaged and locked. When any one of the chambers exceeds a predetermined pressure, the shaft member moves in the axial direction against the elastic force of the elastic body.

According to the present invention, at the time of relative rotation between the casing and the shaft member, the braking function can be exhibited and the rotating body such as the toilet seat and the lid can be held upright. In addition, the provision of the above-described mechanism for holding up does not increase the diameter as in the conventional example. Therefore, the degree of freedom of the attachment point increases.
In addition, the assembling work is simpler than a conventional damper using a leaf spring, the number of assembling steps is reduced, and the assembling workability is also good. Therefore, the assembly cost can be reduced.
Further, the rotary damper according to the present invention is configured such that when a large rotational torque acts on the casing or the shaft member, the high pressure side damper chamber and the low pressure side damper chamber communicate with each other quickly to reduce the pressure. Further, it is possible to prevent the damper mechanism and the constituent members such as the toilet seat and the lid linked thereto from being damaged.

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a rotary damper according to the present invention in which a shaft member 2 is rotatably incorporated in a cylindrical casing 1, and is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane passing through the axes of the casing 1 and the shaft member 2. FIG.
The casing 1 is composed of a casing body 3 and a cap 4, and a pair of partition walls 5 and 5 are formed on the inner side of the casing body 3 toward the center as shown in FIG. 2.
The shaft member 2 includes a shaft portion 6 penetrating the cap, a flange 7 in contact with the inner periphery of the casing body 3 in the casing body 3, a valve body 9 provided at the tip of the blade portion 8 and the blade portion 8, And a convex portion 7c formed on the other side surface 7b of the flange 7 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
And the front-end | tip of a pair of partition 5 formed in the inner periphery of the said casing main body 3 is facing the axial part 6 of the said shaft member 2. As shown in FIG.

Further, a fluid chamber 10 is formed between one side surface 7a of the flange 7 in the casing 1 and the bottom surface 3a of the casing body 3 facing the flange 7, and the fluid chamber 10 is configured as shown in FIG. Incorporates a damper mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 2, this damper mechanism forms partition walls 5, 5 toward the shaft portion 6 in the fluid chamber 10 in the casing body 3, and the four damper chambers 10 a, 10b, 10c, 10d are formed. A viscous fluid is sealed inside the fluid chamber 10. Further, the valve element 9 provided at the tip of the blade portion 8 rotates with the blade portion 8 by sliding on the inner peripheral surface of the casing body 3 when the shaft member 2 rotates with respect to the casing 1. And this valve body 9 opens and closes the channel | path 11 formed between the blade | wing part 8 and the valve body 9 according to the rotation direction.

  That is, when the shaft portion 6 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the passage 11 is closed, the damper chambers 10a and 10c have a reduced volume, and the damper chambers 10b and 10d have an increased volume. Accordingly, the viscous fluid flows from the high pressure side damper chambers 10a and 10c to the low pressure side damper chambers 10b and 10d. At this time, since the passage 11 is closed by the valve body 9 as described above, the viscous fluid flows between the contact surface between the partition wall 5 and the shaft portion 6 shown in FIG. 1 between the peripheral surface, the end surface 5a of the partition wall 5 shown in FIG. 1 and one side surface 7a of the flange 7, and the clearance between the end surface 8a of the blade 8 and the bottom surface 3a of the casing body 3. Flows between rooms. Since any of these gaps is a very small gap, the flow resistance of the viscous fluid is increased and a braking force is exerted.

Further, when the shaft portion 6 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the passage 11 is opened, so that the viscous fluid flows from the damper chambers 10d and 10b to the damper chambers 10a and 10c via the passage 11. Thus, the flow resistance when the viscous fluid flows through the passage 11 is smaller than that during rotation in the arrow A direction.
That is, the rotation in the arrow A direction becomes heavy, and the rotation in the opposite arrow B direction becomes light.
However, the damper mechanism is not limited to the configuration of FIG. For example, the rotational torque does not need to change according to the rotational direction, and the number of the blade portions 8 and the partition walls 5 may be any number. In short, the mechanism for slowing the relative rotational speed between the shaft member 2 and the casing 1 is based on the resistance of the viscous fluid sealed in the damper chamber, and this damper chamber is surrounded by the bottom surface of the casing and the flange of the shaft member. It does not matter as long as it is.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, in the casing body 3, on the other surface 7 b side of the flange 7, the shaft portion 6 is passed through the center and the braking plate whose rotation is restricted with respect to the casing 1. 12 and a ring-shaped wave washer 13 is provided on the cap 4 side of the brake plate 12. The wave washer 13 is an elastic body of the present invention, and an elastic force is applied in a direction in which the braking plate 12 is pressed against the flange 7 of the shaft member 2. Since the shaft member 2 is pressed in the direction of the bottom surface 3a of the casing body 3 by this elastic force, the end surface 8a of the blade portion 8 of the shaft member 2 and the end surface of the valve body 9 are pressed against the bottom surface 3a. Further, one side surface 7 a of the flange 7 is pressed against the end surface 5 a of the partition wall 5 and the end surface of the valve body 9. Therefore, the one side surface 7a and the bottom surface 3a of the casing body 3 constitute a wall surface orthogonal to the axial direction of the damper chambers 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d.

  In addition, as a structure which controls the relative rotation with respect to the casing 1 of the said brake plate 12, for example, the linear convex part which has a length in parallel with an axial direction is provided in the outer periphery of the said brake plate 12, and this convex part is opposed. The casing 1 meshes with the convex portion and has a linear concave portion longer than the linear convex portion. The rotation of the brake plate 12 is restricted by engaging the linear convex portions and the linear concave portions.

Further, a convex portion 7c is formed on the other side surface 7b of the flange 7, and a concave portion 12a is formed on a side surface 12b opposite to the other side surface 7b of the flange 7 of the braking plate 12, and these convex portions 7c. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the recess 12a is engaged with the recess 12a. In this way, relative rotation between the shaft member 2 and the casing 1 is restricted in a state where the convex portion 7c and the concave portion 12a are engaged.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes an O-ring that is a sealing mechanism of the present invention, and is provided between the outer peripheral portion of the flange 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the casing 1. The O-ring 14 prevents the viscous fluid in the damper chambers 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d in FIG. 2 from flowing over the flange 7 to the braking member 12 side.

The operation of the rotary damper locking mechanism of the present invention will be described below.
3 to 5 are schematic views for explaining the lock mechanism of the rotary damper. Although corresponding to the partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, the shaft portion 6 is omitted, and only the portion related to the lock mechanism is schematically shown. The casing 1 includes a casing body 3 and a cap 4, but is shown here as an integrated unit.

The flange 7 is formed with two convex portions 7c and 7c, and the brake plate 12 is formed with two concave portions 12a and 12a. The number of the convex portions 7c and the concave portions 12a is not limited to two, and any number may be used.
FIG. 3 shows a locked state in which the convex portion 7c is engaged with the concave portion 12a as in FIG. Therefore, for example, when the toilet seat, lid, etc. are lifted and adjusted to a position where the projection 7c and the recess 12a engage with each other, the toilet seat, lid, etc. can be held upright. When the toilet seat or lid is lowered from this state, it is necessary to apply a rotational force that overcomes the pressing force with which the wave washer 13 presses the braking plate 12 against the flange 7.

  When the shaft member 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3 with a force that overcomes the elastic force, the convex portion 7c comes out of the concave portion 12a and moves onto the side surface 12b of the brake plate 12 as shown in FIG. When the convex portion 7c is positioned on the side surface 12b of the braking plate 12, the braking plate 12 moves toward the wave washer 13 by the depth of the concave portion 12a or the height of the convex portion 7c. That is, the braking plate 12 moves in the axial direction against the elastic force of the wave washer 13, and the wave washer 13 is bent.

When the shaft member 2 further rotates in the arrow C direction from the state of FIG. 4, the convex portion 7 c moves on the side surface 12 b to be in the state shown in FIG. 5.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in a state where the convex portion 7 c is in contact with the side surface 12 b of the braking plate 12, the lock mechanism is released, so that the shaft member 2 and the casing 1 can be rotated relative to each other. When the shaft member 2 rotates, the damper mechanism shown in FIG. 2 acts to exert a braking function that makes the rotation of the shaft member 2 gentle.

As described above, in the state in which the damper mechanism is operating, even if the hand is released from the toilet seat or the lid, the speed of lowering by its own weight can be reduced. FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 show the damper mechanism of this rotary damper and the function of preventing the structural members such as the toilet seat and lid attached thereto when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or larger is applied suddenly during this descent process. This will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 shows a normal rotation state in which the convex portion 7c of the flange 7 of the shaft member 2 is disengaged from the concave portion 12a of the brake plate 12 and is located on the surface 5b. At this time, the wave washer 13 is slightly bent and presses the braking plate 12 toward the flange 7 of the shaft member 2. Accordingly, the damper chambers 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are surrounded by the inner surface of the casing body 3, the bottom surface 3a, the partition walls 5 and 5, the outer periphery of the shaft portion 6, one side surface 7a of the flange 7, and the blade portions 8 and 8. ing.

In such a state, when a rotating body such as a toilet seat is forced to rotate by applying a large external force more than a predetermined force in the bronze direction, the shaft portion 6 is forcibly rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. It will be.
At this time, since the passage 11 at the tip of the blade portion 8 is closed by the valve body 9, the rotation in the direction of the arrow A becomes heavy, but it is forced to rotate, and the pressure in the damper chambers 10a and 10c Is higher than normal rotation. Such an ultra-high pressure acts as a force in the direction of arrow p on one side surface 7a of the flange 7 blocking the axial ends of the damper chambers 10a and 10c.

  When the inside of the damper chambers 10a and 10c becomes extremely high beyond the normal use range, in the conventional rotary damper, the blades 8, the partition walls 5, or the constituent members such as the toilet seat and the lid are damaged. Although there is a possibility, in the rotary damper of the present invention, the flange 7 is pressed by the pressure in the direction of the arrow p and the shaft member 2 is pushed toward the wave washer 13, so that the shaft member 2 and the brake plate 12 are connected to the wave washer. It moves against the elastic force of 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the shaft member 2 moves and a space X is formed between one side surface 7 a of the flange 7 and the end surface 5 a of the partition wall 5. The high pressure side damper chamber 10 a and the low pressure side damper chamber 10 b communicate with each other across the partition wall 5 through the space X. Similarly, the damper chamber 10c and the damper chamber 10d communicate with each other across the partition wall 5.

In addition, a space Y is also formed between the bottom surface 3 a and the end surface 8 a of the blade portion 8 by moving the shaft member 2 toward the cap 4 side on the bottom surface 3 a side. Through this space Y, the damper chamber 10a and the damper chamber 10d communicate with each other beyond the blade portion 8, and the damper chamber 10c and the damper chamber 10b communicate with each other.
As described above, since all the damper chambers 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d communicate with each other on the flange 7 side and the bottom surface 3a side, the viscous fluid flows without resistance, and the damper chamber 10a that has become ultra-high pressure. , 10c can be reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent damage to the toilet seat, the cover member, or the damper mechanism.
In addition, if the pressure of each damper chamber 10a, 10c falls and the pressing force which presses one side surface 7a of the said flange 7 becomes smaller than the elastic force of the said wave washer 13, the brake plate 12 and a shaft member will be carried out by the said elastic force. 2 moves in the axial direction, and the spaces X and Y are reduced to return to the normal state of FIG.

As described above, the rotary damper exhibits a braking function when the casing 1 and the shaft member 2 are rotated relative to each other, and can hold the toilet seat or lid provided as a rotating body by locking the rotation. . Moreover, unlike the conventional example, the diameter does not increase because the above-described mechanism for holding up is provided. Therefore, the degree of freedom of the attachment point increases.
Further, at the time of assembly, after injecting a predetermined amount of viscous fluid into the casing body 3, the shaft member 2 is inserted into the casing body 3, the brake plate 12 and the wave washer 13 are sequentially inserted, and the cap 4 is closed. Good. There is no need for a conventional force to spread the leaf spring or a fine work to pinch the needle, reducing the number of assembly steps and improving the workability.
Furthermore, when a large rotational torque exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the casing 1 or the shaft member 2, the high pressure side damper chamber and the low pressure side damper chamber communicate with each other quickly so that the pressure decreases. Further, it is possible to prevent the constituent members such as the toilet seat and the lid linked with the damage.

In the above-described embodiment, an example of a damper in which the shaft portion 2a is passed through the cap 4 has been described. However, the shaft portion 2a may be passed through the casing body 3, and the shaft portion protrudes from the casing 1 in particular. It does not matter if the configuration is not allowed. Caps may also be provided on both sides of the casing body.
Further, either the convex portion 7c formed on the flange 7 of the shaft member 2 or the concave portion 12a formed on the braking plate 12 may be a convex portion or a concave portion.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the wave washer 13 is used as an elastic body, an elastic body is not restricted to this. For example, in a normal state, such as a coil spring, any member that has an elastic force to press the braking plate 12 against the flange 7 and enables the shaft member 2 to move in the axial direction may be used.

It is sectional drawing of embodiment of this invention, and is the II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which showed the damper mechanism of embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the locking mechanism of embodiment, and is the elements on larger scale which showed the locked state. It is a figure for demonstrating the locking mechanism of embodiment, and is the elements on larger scale which showed the lock release state. It is a figure for demonstrating the locking mechanism of embodiment, and is the elements on larger scale which showed the lock release state. It is a figure for demonstrating the damage prevention function of embodiment, and is sectional drawing which shows a normal rotation state. It is a figure for demonstrating the damage prevention function of embodiment, and is sectional drawing which shows a forced rotation state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Casing 2 Shaft member 3 Casing main body 3a Bottom surface 4 Cap 5 Bulkhead 7 Flange 7a One side surface 7b The other side surface 7c Convex part 8 Blade part 10 Fluid room 10a Damper room 10b Damper room 10c Damper room 10d Damper room 12 Brake plate 12a Recessed part 13 Wave washer 14 O-ring

Claims (1)

  It is composed of a casing and a shaft member that is rotatable relative to the casing and is relatively movable in the axial direction and is incorporated in the casing. The shaft member is provided with a flange, and one side surface of the flange is opposed to the side surface. A fluid chamber is formed between the bottom surface of the casing and the casing inner surface in the fluid chamber is provided with at least one partition wall having a tip opposed to the shaft member, while the shaft member has a tip opposed to the casing inner surface. And at least one blade portion is provided, the axial end surfaces of the partition wall and the blade portion are brought into contact with the bottom surface of the casing and one side surface of the flange of the shaft member, and the bottom surface, one side surface of the flange, the partition wall and the blade portion are Together, the fluid chamber is partitioned into at least two damper chambers, and the shaft member and the casing rotate relative to each other, thereby A damper mechanism that exerts a damping effect by the flow resistance of the fluid flowing from the damper chamber to the other damper chamber, and between the other side surface of the flange of the shaft member and the casing inner surface facing the side surface, A brake plate that is axially movable and non-rotatable with respect to the casing, and an elastic body that presses the brake plate against the other side surface of the flange, and the brake plate, the fluid chamber, A sealing mechanism is provided to block the gap between the other side surface of the flange and the side surface of the brake plate facing the side surface, and a convex portion is provided on the other surface. In which the shaft member is locked against the elastic force of the elastic body when any of the damper chambers exceeds a predetermined pressure. Rotation damper has a configuration that motion.

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