JP2009169590A - Actuator device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an actuator device equipped with a security function with the consumption of the actuator grasped , in advance, to prevent malfunctions due to the consumption, by acquiring responsiveness of an actuator, before the actuator operates. <P>SOLUTION: The actuator device is provided with; an actuator part 1 which operates according to the variations in the shape of a shape-memory material 8; an impression part 2 which supplies currents to the shape-memory material 8 to heat it; a detection part 3 which detects the variations of the physical property values of the shape-memory material 8, the variations concerned occurring with the variations in its shape; a computation part 4 which performs computation processing, on the basis of the physical property values obtained by the detection part 3; a storage part 5 which stores at least the computed values obtained by the computation part 4; a control part 6 which controls the impression part 2, the detection part 3, the computation part 4 and the storage part 5; and a consumption-determining part 7 which detects the consumption of the actuator part 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an actuator device that feedback-controls a physical property value of a shape memory material.

  Actuator devices using shape memory materials are well known in the art. For example, the actuator device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-43765 is designed to control the operation of the actuator by feedback-controlling the physical property value of the shape memory material.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-43765

However, in an actuator using a shape memory material, deterioration of the shape memory material and deterioration of a metal part related to actuator operation occur. The deterioration of the shape memory material causes a problem that a desired displacement cannot be given to the actuator. Further, the deterioration of the metal part makes it difficult for the sliding part to move. The conventional actuator device has a property that the response of the actuator operation deteriorates due to the consumption of the actuator.
However, in spite of such a background, the actuator device described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the consumption of the actuator. For this reason, it is impossible to prevent problems caused by wear.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and by acquiring the responsiveness of the actuator before the operation of the actuator, it is possible to grasp in advance the degree of wear of the actuator and to prevent problems caused by wear in advance. An actuator device having a function is provided. In other words, the present invention is to provide an actuator device having a safety function for monitoring the degree of wear of the actuator and avoiding problems in advance.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention relates to an actuator unit that operates according to a shape change of a shape memory material, an application unit that electrically heats the shape memory material, and a shape change of the shape memory material. A detection unit for detecting a change in physical property value, a calculation unit for performing calculation processing based on the physical property value acquired in the detection unit, a storage unit for storing at least a calculation value obtained from the calculation unit, an application unit, a detection unit, and a calculation And a control unit for controlling the storage unit, and a wear level determination unit for detecting the wear level of the actuator unit.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the wear degree determination unit compares the change rate of the physical property value obtained by the calculation unit of the shape memory material that changes due to energization heating and the set reference value stored in advance in the storage unit. It is characterized by determining the degree of wear.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the physical property value is a resistance value.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the consumption level is detected and determined when the actuator device is turned on.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the actuator device includes a display unit that displays the degree of wear.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the actuator device includes an audio generation unit that notifies the degree of wear by audio.

The actuator device according to the present invention obtains the response of the actuator before the operation of the actuator by monitoring the change in the physical property value accompanying the shape change, and monitors the degree of wear of the actuator, so the degree of wear of the actuator is grasped in advance. can do.
Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to incorporate a safety function for preventing problems caused by wear.

  Embodiments of an actuator device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an actuator device according to the present invention.
In the figure, the actuator device includes an actuator unit 1 including a shape memory material 8, an application unit 2, a detection unit 3, a calculation unit 4 including a wear level determination unit 7, a storage unit 5, and a control unit 6. And.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing in the embodiment. The operation of the present embodiment will be described based on the flow of FIG.
First, in step S <b> 101, the control unit 6 controls the application unit 2 to reset the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 to a preset setting value at the start of processing.
In step S <b> 102, the application unit 2 energizes the shape memory material 8, and the detection unit 3 acquires the physical property value of the shape memory material 8. The acquired physical property value is stored in the storage unit 5.

  The energization amount and the energization time are controlled by controlling the application unit 2 with a control signal from the control unit 6. The control of the detection unit 3 in acquiring the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 is performed by controlling the detection unit 3 by a control signal from the control unit 6.

  For example, when the energization amount is a voltage applied to the shape memory material 8, that is, an applied voltage, the shape memory material 8 is energized by the application unit 2 using a preset pattern as shown in FIG. To do. Acquisition of the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 in the detection unit 3 is performed by sampling during the energization period. Of course, in order to temporarily stop energization during sampling, the energization of the shape memory material 8 by the application unit 2 and the acquisition of the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 by the detection unit 3 are performed alternately. . Needless to say, it is desirable to increase the sampling rate in order to obtain the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 with high accuracy. When the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 to be obtained is the resistance value of the shape memory material 8, for example, FIG. In FIG. 3 (b), the solid line represents the time change of the resistance value when the actuator unit 1 is in the initial state (the state is not consumed), and the alternate long and short dash line represents the time change of the resistance value when the actuator unit 1 is consumed. Show. Even when the shape memory material 8 is energized using the same preset pattern, the resistance value change amount 10 in the initial state is different from the resistance value change amount 11 in the exhausted state. The change amount of the resistance value is smaller in the change amount 11 of the resistance value in the exhausted state than in the change amount 10 of the resistance value in the initial state.

  In step S <b> 103, the calculation unit 4 calculates the change rate of the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 based on the acquired physical property value and time of the shape memory material 8. The change rate of the physical property value is defined by the change amount of the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 with respect to the amount of time.

  Thus, even when the shape memory element 8 is energized using the same pattern, a difference appears in the amount of change in the physical property value of the shape memory element 8 depending on how the actuator unit 1 is used. The change in the change amount of the physical property value is reflected in the change speed of the physical property value. Further, the wear level is calculated by comparing the change speed of the physical property value with the set reference value stored in the storage unit 5. A calculated value representing the degree of wear is stored in the storage unit 5. Further, the change amount of the physical property value can be used instead of the change speed of the physical property value. As described above, the “degree of wear” refers to a change amount of the shape memory material 8 with respect to time. Of course, it may be the amount of change in the amount of current of the shape memory material 8 with respect to time.

In step S104, the wear level determination unit 7 compares and determines the wear level obtained in step S103 and a preset wear level threshold value.
If the wear level is equal to or exceeds the wear level threshold (Yes), the process moves to step S105. If the wear level is below the wear level threshold (No), the process moves to step S106. The comparison result between the wear level and the wear level threshold is stored in the storage unit 5.

In step S <b> 105, the energization stop state from the application unit 2 to the shape memory material 8 is maintained by the control signal from the control unit 6. For this reason, the shape memory material 8 is not energized, and the actuator operation is also held in a stopped state. That is, it is determined that the actuator is consumed, and the actuator operation is stopped.
In step S106, the actuator operation shifts to a standby state. That is, the actuator is determined to be in a usable state, and enters the standby state.
These flows are performed when the actuator device is powered on. If the state is determined before actual operation and it is determined that the desired responsiveness cannot be obtained due to wear, a safety function such as not operating can be incorporated.

According to the present embodiment, the reset in step S101 is, for example, to set the physical property value of the shape memory material 8 to a predetermined value. By energizing the shape memory material 8, the physical property value can be set to a predetermined value. Of course, it is better that the energization amount at this time is small. That is, since the starting points of the physical property values in FIG. 3B can be set to a predetermined value, the degree of wear is determined with high accuracy.
Further, instead of the change rate of the physical property value, the change amount of the physical property value with respect to time or the change amount of time required for obtaining a predetermined change amount of the physical property value may be used.
According to the present embodiment, the degree of wear of the actuator unit 1 can be grasped in advance, and a safety function for stopping the actuator operation at the time of wear can be provided.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the actuator device according to the present invention.
In the second embodiment, the actuator device of the first embodiment includes a display unit 12 that displays wear level information.
According to this embodiment, since the display unit 12 displays the wear level information, the wear level of the actuator can be used while monitoring the image information. Further, even when the operation stops, it can be seen that the operation is stopped by the safety function.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the actuator device according to the present invention.
The third embodiment is configured to include a sound generation unit 13 that notifies the actuator device of the first embodiment of wear level information by sound.
According to the present embodiment, since the sound generation unit 13 notifies the wear level information by sound, the wear level of the actuator can be used while monitoring the sound information. Further, even when the operation stops, it can be seen that the operation is stopped by the safety function.

  As described above, the actuator device according to the present invention is useful for an actuator device performing feedback control, and in particular, an actuator device in which a problem occurs when desired response cannot be obtained due to exhaustion of the actuator. Suitable for

It is a figure explaining the structure of a 1st Example. It is a figure explaining the flow of processing of the 1st example. It is a figure explaining the change of the physical-property value of a 1st Example. It is a figure explaining the structure of a 2nd Example. It is a figure explaining the structure of a 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Actuator part 2 Application part 3 Detection part 4 Calculation part 5 Memory | storage part 6 Control part 7 Consumption degree determination part 8 Shape memory | storage part 9 Energizing time 10 The amount of change of the physical property value after 1st use progress 11 After 2nd use progress Of change in physical property value of 12 12 Display 13 Sound generator

Claims (6)

An actuator unit that operates by changing the shape of the shape memory material;
An application unit for energizing and heating the shape memory material;
A detection unit for detecting a change in a physical property value accompanying a shape change of the shape memory material;
A calculation unit that performs calculation processing based on the physical property value acquired in the detection unit;
A storage unit that stores at least a calculation value obtained from the calculation unit;
A control unit for controlling the application unit, the detection unit, the calculation unit, and the storage unit;
An actuator device comprising: a wear level determination unit that detects a wear level of the actuator unit.   The consumption level determination unit determines the level of consumption by comparing a change rate of a physical property value obtained by the calculation unit of the shape memory material that changes due to the energization heating and a set reference value stored in advance in the storage unit. The actuator device according to claim 1, wherein:   The actuator device according to claim 2, wherein the physical property value is a resistance value.   The actuator device according to claim 3, wherein the detection and determination of the degree of wear are performed when the actuator device is powered on.   The actuator device according to claim 4, further comprising a display unit that displays the degree of wear. The actuator device according to claim 4, wherein the actuator device includes a sound generation unit that notifies the consumption level by sound.

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