JP2008273276A - Clinostat - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clinostat capable of preventing occurrence of any defective operation of a first rotating body and a second rotating body provided inside the first rotating body. <P>SOLUTION: The clinostat comprises a first shaft, a first rotating body mounted on the first shaft, a driving device for rotating the first rotating body around the first shaft, a second shaft mounted on the first rotating body with its axial direction being different from the axial direction of the first shaft, a second rotating body mounted on the second shaft, and a driving force transmitting device for rotating the second rotating body around the second shaft by the rotational force of the first rotating body to be rotated by the driving device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clinostat.

  Clinostat has been used to study how organisms are affected in a zero-gravity (or low-gravity) environment. And it is still used now that experiments in space are possible. For example, in proposing and planning space experiments, experiments with clinostats are desired to verify work hypotheses and to show that analysis methods are appropriate. In other words, verification by clinostat is also a measure for measuring the maturity of the proposal.

Now, a clinostat usually has two rotating bodies. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the clinostat has a first rotating body 31 and a second rotating body 32 provided in the first rotating body 31. The 1st rotary body 31 rotates around the axis | shaft 33 provided in the horizontal direction. That is, the shaft 33 is coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor 34, and the shaft 33 is rotationally driven when the electric motor 34 is turned on. As a result, the first rotating body 31 rotates around the horizontal axis 33. The second rotating body 32 rotates around a shaft 35 provided in the vertical direction. The shaft 35 is attached in the vertical direction with respect to the first rotating body 31. The shaft 35 is coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor 36, and the shaft 35 is rotationally driven when the electric motor 36 is turned on. As a result, the second rotating body 32 rotates around the vertical axis 35.
JP-A-11-264716 JP 2000-79900 A JP 2003-70458 A

  Now, the clinostat proposed in the above-mentioned patent document (shown in FIG. 3) has been found to have a malfunction of the second rotating body 32. In severe cases, the rotation of the second rotating body 32 even stopped.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above problems. That is, it is to provide a clinostat that does not cause a malfunction of the first rotating body and the second rotating body provided inside the first rotating body.

The inventor has been diligently pursuing the cause of the malfunction.
However, the cause was not known at all. That is, at first, it was suspected that the electric motor 36 was a defective product. Therefore, the electric motor 36 was replaced with a new electric motor. Nevertheless, malfunction was recognized.
Therefore, it must be concluded that the electric motor 36 is not a defective product.

  This is also connected to the fact that no malfunction is observed in the first rotating body 31 (the electric motor 34 that rotationally drives the first rotating body 31 has no problem). In other words, if the electric motor is a defective product, the probability that the electric motor 34 that rotationally drives the first rotating body 31 will encounter the defective product is the same, but it is not. is there.

  Based on the above findings, further studies were conducted with eagerness. As a result, I came up with the following reason. That is, the electric motor 34 that rotationally drives the first rotating body 31 is placed in a stationary state. However, the electric motor 36 that rotationally drives the second rotating body 32 rotates with the rotation of the first rotating body 31. For this reason, a large force (centrifugal force) acts on the electric motor 36. And when a big force acted, it came to imagine that the gap between the rotor of the electric motor 36 and a stator delicately fluctuated, and this has caused malfunction in the electric motor 36. In fact, when the rotation speed of the first rotating body 31 is slow, no malfunction of the electric motor 36 is recognized, and the clinostat operates normally. On the other hand, when the rotational speed (angular speed) of the first rotating body 31 reaches a high speed such as exceeding 60 rpm, there is a common reason that the malfunction of the electric motor 36 has been recognized. In particular, at high speed operation exceeding 100 rpm, there is something similar to the fact that frequent stoppage of the electric motor 36 was recognized.

  Therefore, the problem (malfunction) when the conventional clinostat shown in FIG. 3 is rotated at a high speed is that the second rotating body 32 is moved by the electric motor 36 attached to the first rotating body 31 rotating at a high speed. It came to think that it might be caused by rotating.

  And it came to the technical idea that the 2nd rotary body 32 should just be rotated without using the electric motor 36 attached to the 1st rotary body 31 rotating at high speed.

The present invention has been achieved based on the above findings.
That is, the above-mentioned problem is the first axis,
A first rotating body attached to the first shaft;
A driving device for rotating the first rotating body around the first axis;
A second shaft attached to the first rotating body having an axial direction in a direction different from the axial direction of the first axis;
A second rotating body attached to the second shaft;
This is solved by a clinostat comprising a driving force transmission device for rotating the second rotating body around the second axis by the rotating force of the first rotating body rotated by the driving device.

  In the clinostat of the present invention, the driving force transmission device includes a disk attached to the first shaft, and the disk is in pressure contact with a surface perpendicular to the second shaft of the second rotating body. This is solved by a clinostat characterized by being configured as follows. In particular, in the above-described clinostat of the present invention, the driving force transmission device includes a disk provided on the first shaft and a plate provided on the second rotating body having a plate surface in a direction perpendicular to the second shaft. And a disc and / or an elastic body provided on the plate, and the disc and the plate are configured to be in pressure contact with each other via the elastic body. Solved by clinostat.

  In addition, the above-described clinostat of the present invention is solved by a clinostat characterized by further comprising a rotation drive device that rotates the disc around the first axis.

  The clinostat of the present invention is solved by a clinostat further comprising a position adjusting device for adjusting the position of the disk in the axial direction of the first shaft.

  The clinostat of the present invention further comprises an auxiliary disk that presses against the second rotating body at a position opposite to the disk with the second shaft interposed therebetween. Solved by.

  According to the present invention, the driving device (for example, an electric motor) that rotationally drives the first rotating body and the second rotating body provided inside the first rotating body is placed in a stationary state. That is, even if the first rotating body or the second rotating body is rotated, the driving device itself is in a stationary state. For this reason, even if the first rotating body and the second rotating body rotate at high speed, the driving device (electric motor) is not affected by the high speed rotation. The clinostat no longer malfunctions.

  Further, the mechanism for rotating the second rotating body can be configured very simply, and the cost of the clinostat is low. Therefore, it is easy to purchase even at research facilities.

  The clinostat according to the present invention includes a first rotating body and a second rotating body provided inside the first rotating body. Moreover, a drive device (for example, an electric motor) is provided. The first rotating body is attached to a first shaft (for example, a shaft provided in the horizontal direction). And it is comprised so that it may rotate around the 1st axis | shaft (around the axial center of a 1st axis | shaft) with the said drive device (electric motor). The second rotating body has a second axis attached to the first rotating body (the axial direction of the second axis is different from the axial direction of the first axis (for example, a vertical direction). ). In the present invention, the second rotating body is rotated around the second axis by the rotational force of the first rotating body rotated by the driving device (for example, an electric motor) (the axis of the second axis). And a driving force transmission device that rotates the rotation of the driving force. The point which has this drive force transmission device is the big characteristic of this invention.

The driving force transmission device has the following configuration, for example.
The driving force transmission device mentioned as a first example includes a disk attached to the first shaft. And the said disc is comprised so that a surface perpendicular | vertical to the said 2nd axis | shaft of a said 2nd rotary body may be press-contacted. Accordingly, the rotational force of the first rotating body rotating around the first axis (horizontal axis) (around the axis of the first axis) is transmitted to the second rotating body by the driving device (for example, an electric motor). Then, it rotates around the second axis (vertical axis) (around the axis of the second axis).

  The driving force transmission device mentioned as the second example is configured as follows in order to ensure driving force transmission. That is, a disk attached to the first shaft is provided. And the board provided in the 2nd rotary body which has a board surface in the direction perpendicular | vertical to the said 2nd axis | shaft is comprised. Furthermore, an elastic body provided on the disk and / or the plate body is provided. For example, a rubber ring is attached to the peripheral side surface of the disk. Alternatively, a planar rubber is affixed to the contact surface of the plate body with the disk. And the said disc and the said board are comprised so that it may press-contact via the said elastic body (rubber). With this configuration, the frictional resistance between the disk and the plate is increased, and the rotation of the second rotating body is further ensured.

  The first rotating body can control (variable) the rotation speed by controlling a driving device (for example, an electric motor). However, with only the configuration described above, the rotational speed (V2) of the second rotating body is always in a constant relationship with the rotational speed (V1) of the first rotating body. For example, V2 = kV1 (k is a constant). Therefore, it is desirable that V2 can be varied. For example, when an attempt is made to study organisms in a weightless environment, there is a desire to change V2 independently of V1. Therefore, in order to satisfy such a desire, a rotation drive device (second drive device: for example, an electric motor) that rotates the disk around the first axis (around the axis of the first axis) is provided. I knew it would be good. That is, if the disk is fixed to the first shaft and the first shaft is rotated by the rotation driving device, the rotation speed of the first rotating body and the rotation speed of the disk are combined. This speed becomes the rotation speed of the second rotating body. That is, V2 = kV1 + f (v). Here, f (v) is a function of the rotational speed of the second rotating body caused by the rotational force of the disk. Therefore, the desire to change V2 independently of V1 can be satisfied.

  The desire can be executed without providing a rotary drive device (second drive device: for example, an electric motor). That is, a position adjusting device that adjusts the position of the disk in the axial direction of the first shaft may be provided. Further, V2 can be varied independently of V1 by operating the position adjusting device and varying the position (position from the second axis: radius) where the disk contacts the second rotating body. . However, in this example, the variable range of V2 is narrower than in the above example. Therefore, it is preferable to provide at least a rotary drive device (second drive device: for example, an electric motor).

  If the disk is in contact only at one end of the second rotating body, the balance of the second rotating body may be lost. For example, if a force is applied only to one end of the horizontal plate, the horizontal plate is unbalanced and the same principle is applied to the horizontal plate tilting. Accordingly, in order to balance the force applied from the disk to the second rotating body, the second rotating body is pressed against the disk at a position opposite to the disk with the second shaft interposed therebetween. It is preferable to provide an auxiliary disk.

Hereinafter, the clinostat according to the present invention will be described more specifically.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a clinostat according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a 1st rotary body. An electric motor 2 is attached to the fixed frame 3. The output shaft of the electric motor 2 is coupled to the first rotating body 1. Therefore, when the switch of the electric motor 2 is turned on, the first rotating body 1 rotates around the horizontal axis (horizontal axis: first axis) 4 (around the horizontal axis (XX line)). To do. A ball bearing is provided between the horizontal shaft 4 and the first rotating body 1 as can be seen from FIG. Accordingly, even when the first rotating body 1 rotates, the horizontal shaft 4 does not move.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes a second rotator disposed inside the first rotator 1. The second rotating body 5 is attached to a vertical axis (vertical axis: second axis) 6 disposed at the center position of the first rotating body 1 in the left-right and front-back directions. A ball bearing is provided between the vertical shaft 6 and the first rotating body 1 as can be seen from FIG. Therefore, even if the second rotating body 5 (and the vertical axis 6) rotates around the vertical axis 6 (around the axis (YY line) of the vertical axis 6), this rotational force is not applied to the first rotating body. 1 is not transmitted.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a sample holding device provided inside the second rotating body 5. Therefore, the sample S to be tested is held by the sample holding device 7. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the sample holding device 7 is configured so that the sample S held by the sample holding device 7 exists at the rotation center position.

  A major feature of the present invention is that a disk 8 is provided on the horizontal shaft 4. In particular, the disc 8 is provided so as to contact the horizontal plate 9 of the second rotating body 5. Further, a friction / elastic body (for example, rubber) 10 having a large friction coefficient is attached to the peripheral side surface of the disk 8. Accordingly, the disk 8 is in pressure contact with the horizontal plate 9 of the second rotating body 5 via the rubber 10.

  In the clinostat configured as described above, when the switch of the electric motor 2 is turned on, the first rotating body 1 rotates around the horizontal axis 4 (around the XX line). As a result, the vertical shaft 6 attached to the first rotating body 1 also rotates around the horizontal axis 4 (around the XX line) (in a plane perpendicular to the paper surface). That is, the second rotating body 5 attached to the vertical shaft 6 similarly rotates around the XX line. At this time, since the disk 8 is in pressure contact with the horizontal plate 9 of the second rotating body 5, a force perpendicular to the paper surface acts on the horizontal plate 9 due to the frictional resistance between them. Accordingly, the horizontal plate 9, that is, the second rotating body 5 rotates around the vertical axis 6 (around the Y-Y line). That is, the second rotating body 5 rotates around the horizontal axis 4 (around the axis of the horizontal axis 4) and also rotates around the vertical axis 6 (around the axis of the vertical axis 6). .

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a clinostat according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the second electric motor 11 is directly connected to the horizontal shaft 4. The second electric motor 11 is also attached to the fixed frame 3. When the switch of the second electric motor 11 is turned on, the horizontal shaft 4 itself rotates about its own axis. As a result, the disk 8 rotates around the axis of the horizontal shaft 4.
Since other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, since the disk 8 is rotated, the force from the rotating disk 8 is applied to the horizontal plate 9. As a result, the rotation speed of the second rotating body 5 around the axis of the vertical shaft 6 can be increased or decreased as compared with the case where the disk 8 does not rotate.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 denotes an auxiliary disk attached to the inside of the first rotating body 1. The auxiliary disk 12 is attached at a position substantially symmetrical to the disk 8 about the vertical axis 6. The horizontal plate 9 has a vertical shaft 6 in between, the disk 8 is pressed against one side, and the auxiliary disk 12 is pressed on the other side, so that the balance of the horizontal plate 9 is good. It has become.

Schematic front view of the clinostat of the first embodiment Schematic front view of the clinostat of the second embodiment General front view of conventional clinostat Katsumi Udaka

Claims (6)

A first axis;
A first rotating body attached to the first shaft;
A driving device for rotating the first rotating body around the first axis;
A second shaft attached to the first rotating body having an axial direction in a direction different from the axial direction of the first axis;
A second rotating body attached to the second shaft;
And a driving force transmission device for rotating the second rotating body around the second axis by the rotating force of the first rotating body rotated by the driving device. The driving force transmission device
Comprising a disc attached to the first shaft;
2. The clinostat according to claim 1, wherein the disc is configured to be pressed against a surface perpendicular to the second axis of the second rotating body. The driving force transmission device
A disc attached to the first shaft;
A plate provided on a second rotating body having a plate surface in a direction perpendicular to the second axis;
An elastic body provided on the disk and / or the plate body,
The clinostat according to claim 1, wherein the disc and the plate are configured to be in pressure contact with each other via the elastic body. The clinostat according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a rotation drive device for rotating the disk around the first axis. The clinostat according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising a position adjusting device for adjusting a position of the disk in the axial direction of the first shaft. 6. The clinostat according to claim 2, further comprising an auxiliary disk that presses against the second rotating body at a position opposite to the disk with the second shaft interposed therebetween.

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