JP2009197887A - Actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an actuator having a function capable of driving a driven member even when failure occurs. <P>SOLUTION: For example, failure is assumed to have occurred in the actuator 100 and a drive shaft 117 includes been locked. In this case, as in Fig.2, when two small screws SB are loosened, an intermediate shaft part 117B can be pulled out in the perpendicular direction of the sheet of Fig.2 (in the direction orthogonal to the movement direction of the drive shaft 117), and thereby, a second shaft part 117C can be independently moved with respect to the first shaft part 117A, so that a link member 11 connected to the second drive shaft 117C can be manually moved to switch a dog clutch 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric actuator that is particularly suitable for use in ships and the like.

In a relatively small vessel that drives a screw with an internal combustion engine, the screw rotation in the forward direction and the screw rotation in the reverse direction are switched via a wire connected to a lever operated by the operator. The dog clutch is switched and engaged with the forward gear or the reverse gear. However, in recent years, there has been a demand for switching the dog clutch by electric drive for labor saving. Here, for example, various actuators for vehicles have been developed (see Patent Document 1), and it is conceivable to divert them.
JP-A-9-224348

  By the way, when some trouble occurs in the actuator, there is a problem that the dog clutch cannot be switched and the ship cannot move by itself. Therefore, there is a demand for switching the dog clutch even when an actuator malfunctions. However, since the space for installing the actuator is small in the outboard motor, there is a problem that the actuator cannot be easily removed when a problem occurs on the ocean.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an actuator having a function capable of driving a driven member even if a problem occurs.

The actuator of the present invention is a marine actuator that drives a driven member.
A housing;
An electric motor mounted in the housing and having a rotating shaft;
A drive mechanism having a drive shaft for driving the driven member by transmitting a rotational force from the rotary shaft;
A part of the drive shaft is separable in a direction intersecting the axis of the drive shaft.

  According to the present invention, a part of the drive shaft is separable in a direction intersecting the axis of the drive shaft. Therefore, when a failure occurs in the actuator, a part of the drive shaft is separated. Thus, since the driven member can be moved manually, when the driven member is connected to the dog clutch, this can be switched. In particular, since a part of the drive shaft can be separated in a direction intersecting the axis of the drive shaft, a part of the drive shaft can be separated without moving the rest of the drive shaft.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an outboard motor using the actuator according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 2 taken along line III-III and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

  In FIG. 1, the outboard motor 2 has a casing 2a fixed to the hull 1 and a cowling 2b attached to the upper portion thereof. An engine (not shown) in which the output shaft 3 is extended to the casing 2a is mounted inside the cowling 2b. A bevel gear 3 a is attached to the lower end of the output shaft 3.

  A propeller shaft 4 is horizontally disposed below the casing 2a and is rotatably supported. In the figure of the propeller shaft 4, the right end side protrudes outward from the casing 2 a, and the propeller 5 is attached to the end portion.

  The propeller shaft 4 passes through a forward bevel gear 6 and a reverse bevel gear 7 that mesh with the bevel gear 3 a, and a dog clutch 8 is disposed between the bevel gears 6 and 7. The dog clutch 8 can move relative to the propeller shaft 4 in the axial direction but can rotate integrally, and the bevel gears 6 and 7 can rotate relative to each other. Although not shown, the dog clutch 8 has protrusions facing in both axial directions. When the dog clutch 8 moves to the left in the figure, the protrusion engages with the concave portion of the bevel gear 6, and the dog clutch 8 and the bevel gear 6. And rotate together. On the other hand, by moving to the right in the figure, the protrusion engages with the concave portion of the bevel gear 7, and the dog clutch 8 and the bevel gear 7 rotate integrally.

  The dog clutch 8 is driven in the axial direction by a cam shaft 9. The cam shaft 9 is coupled so as to be displaced in the axial direction in accordance with the rotation of the operation shaft 10. The operation shaft 10 is connected to a drive shaft 117 of an actuator 100 described later via a link member 11.

  In FIG. 3, a cylindrical housing 101 includes an aluminum housing main body 101A, an aluminum or resin cover member 101B assembled with bolts B (FIG. 3) to an end surface thereof, and a motor bracket 101C. . The housing body 101A has a motor chamber 101a and a screw shaft chamber 101b. A motor 102 is disposed in the motor chamber 101a. The motor 102 is fixed to a plate-shaped motor bracket 101C. The motor bracket 101C sandwiches an outer ring of a ball bearing 114 described later between the housing main body 101A and the motor chamber 101a of the housing main body 101A and the screw shaft chamber. It is attached so as to block 101b.

  In FIG. 3, the rotating shaft 102a of the electric motor 102 protrudes from the motor bracket 101C, and a metal first gear 103 is attached to the end of the rotating shaft 102a so as not to be relatively rotatable by press fitting. A resin-made second gear 105 is rotatably disposed around the long shaft 104 implanted in the motor bracket 101C, and meshes with the large gear portion 106a of the first gear 103 and the third gear 106. Yes.

  The resin-made third gear 106 has a large gear portion 106a and a small gear portion 106b formed coaxially, and is attached to the end of the screw shaft 107 so as not to be relatively rotatable by serration coupling. A support member 108 is attached to the motor bracket 101C so as to cover a part of the third gear 106. Here, the first gear 103, the second gear 105, and the third gear 106 constitute a first power transmission mechanism.

  A fourth gear 109 disposed adjacent to the second gear 105 is rotatably supported around the long shaft 104. The resin-made fourth gear 109 has a large gear portion 109 a meshed with the small gear portion 106 b of the third gear 106 and a small gear portion 109 b formed coaxially.

  The small gear portion 109 b of the fourth gear 109 meshes with the large gear portion 111 a of the fifth gear 111 that is rotatably supported with respect to the short shaft 110 implanted in the support member 108 in parallel with the long shaft 104. ing. The resin-made fifth gear 111 has a large gear portion 111a and a small gear portion 111b formed coaxially. The small gear portion 111 b meshes with a sixth gear 112 that is disposed adjacent to the fifth gear 111 and rotatably supported around the long shaft 104. A bush for smooth rotation may be disposed between the long shaft 104 and the short shaft 110 and each gear.

  The potentiometer 113 as an angle sensor is fitted and disposed in the hole 101d of the cover member 101B and is fixed by a machine screw (not shown). The measurement shaft 113a is connected to the sixth gear 112 and rotates integrally. It is like that. The tip of the long shaft 104 extending in a cantilever manner is supported by the potentiometer 113 or the hole 101d via the sixth gear 112 and the measurement shaft 113a. The potentiometer 113 can accurately detect an angle within a predetermined range (for example, 90 degrees) of the measurement axis 113a. Here, the first gear 103, the second gear 105, the third gear 106, the fourth gear 109, the fifth gear 111, and the sixth gear 112 constitute a second power transmission mechanism. The cover member 101B has a function as a gear cover for sealing so that foreign matter does not enter each gear. In addition, it is preferable to use different resin materials for the gears to be engaged with each other because wear can be suppressed.

  3, the screw shaft 107 is rotatably supported by a ball bearing 114 on the right end side in the drawing with respect to the housing main body 101A. The screw shaft 107 has a male screw groove 107a on the left end side.

  The screw shaft 107 passes through a cylindrical nut 115. A female screw groove 115a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the nut 115 so as to face the male screw groove 107a, and a large number of balls 116 are formed in a spiral space (rolling path) formed by both the screw grooves 107a and 115a. It is arranged to roll freely. The nut 115 is provided with a detent (not shown) with respect to the housing main body 101A, and is relatively movable in the axial direction in the screw shaft chamber 101b, but is not relatively rotatable. A nut 115 as an axial movement element, a screw shaft 107 as a rotation element, and a ball 116 as a rolling element constitute a ball screw mechanism, and the ball screw mechanism and the following drive shaft 117 drive the ball screw mechanism. Configure the mechanism.

  The left end of the screw shaft 107 penetrates into a bag hole 117a formed in the round shaft-shaped drive shaft 117. The drive shaft 117 is connected to the nut 115 coaxially and connected by a pin so as to move integrally with the first shaft portion 117A and the link member 11 (FIG. 1) by a bolt B. The second shaft portion 117C and the intermediate shaft portion 117B disposed between the first shaft portion 117A and the second shaft portion 117C, and the axes of the shaft portions coincide with each other in the assembled state.

  The intermediate shaft portion 117B has such a shape that two semicylindrical portions having similar shapes are joined while being shifted in the axial direction, and screw holes 117b and 117d are formed at both ends thereof. The first shaft portion 117A forms a semi-cylindrical portion corresponding to the end portion of the intermediate shaft portion 117B, and further has a hole 117e communicating with the screw hole 117b. The second shaft portion 117C also forms a semi-cylindrical portion corresponding to the end portion of the intermediate shaft portion 117B, and further has a hole 117f communicating with the screw hole 117d. With reference to FIG. 3, by screwing the small screw SB inserted through the hole 117b into the screw hole 117b and screwing the small screw SB inserted through the hole 117d into the screw hole 117d from the opposite direction, The first shaft portion 117A, the intermediate shaft portion 117B, and the second shaft portion 117C are connected in series. The axial length L of one semi-cylindrical portion of the intermediate shaft portion 117B is larger than the stroke of the drive shaft 117.

  In FIG. 1, the wiring 102b of the motor 102 and the wiring 113b of the potentiometer 113 extend to the cowling 2b side through the breather pipe 12, and are further connected to the ECU (see FIG. 3).

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, since the bevel gear 3a is always meshed with both the forward bevel gear 6 and the reverse bevel gear 7, the bevel gear to which power is transmitted from the bevel gear 3a as long as the internal combustion engine is operating. 6 and 7 rotate in opposite directions. However, in the neutral state, as shown in FIG. 1, since the dog clutch 8 is not engaged with any of the bevel gears 6 and 7, the power of the output shaft 3 is not transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 and the propeller 5 It will not rotate.

  Here, it is assumed that the operator operates a lever (not shown) in the forward direction from the neutral state. Then, in FIG. 4, electric power having a predetermined polarity is supplied to the motor 102, and the rotating shaft 102a rotates in a predetermined direction. Since the rotational force of the rotating shaft 102a is transmitted to the screw shaft 107 via the first gear 103, the second gear 105, and the third gear 106, the nut 115 is moved to the left in FIG. 2 according to the rotation of the screw shaft 107. It is displaced to. When the nut 115 is displaced to the left, the drive shaft 117 moves in a protruding direction, so that the link member 11 pivots in FIG. Accordingly, the operation shaft 10 rotates in a predetermined direction, the cam shaft 9 moves to the left via a cam mechanism (not shown), and the dog clutch 8 is engaged with the forward bevel gear 6. As a result, the power of the output shaft 3 can be transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 via the bevel gears 3a and 6 and the dog clutch 8, and the propeller 5 can be rotated forward.

  On the other hand, the rotational force of the rotating shaft 102a is applied to the measuring shaft 113a of the potentiometer 113 via the first gear 103, the second gear 105, the third gear 106, the fourth gear 109, the fifth gear 111, and the sixth gear 112. Communicated. A signal corresponding to the rotation of the measuring shaft 113a is input from the potentiometer 113 to a drive circuit (not shown) via the wiring 113b. If it is determined that the screw shaft 107 is rotated by a predetermined rotation amount based on the signal, the drive circuit stops the power supply to the motor 102.

  On the other hand, when the operator operates a lever (not shown) in the reverse direction, in FIG. 2, electric power having a reverse polarity is supplied to the motor 102, and the rotating shaft 102 a rotates in the reverse direction. With this operation, the drive shaft 117 of the actuator 100 moves in the retracting direction. Accordingly, the operating shaft 10 rotates in the reverse direction via the link member 11 in FIG. 1, the cam shaft 9 moves to the right via the cam mechanism (not shown), and the dog clutch 8 is engaged with the reverse bevel gear 7. Let As a result, the power of the output shaft 3 can be transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 via the bevel gears 3a and 7 and the dog clutch 8, and the propeller 5 can be rotated in the reverse direction.

  For example, it is assumed that some trouble occurs in the actuator 100 and the drive shaft 117 is locked. Even in such a case, according to the present embodiment, if the two small screws SB shown in FIG. 2 are loosened, the intermediate shaft portion 117B is made perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 (perpendicular to the moving direction of the drive shaft 117). The second shaft portion 117C can be moved independently with respect to the first shaft portion 117A, so that the link member 11 connected thereto can be manually moved. Thus, the dog clutch 8 can be switched. In addition, since the length L of the semi-cylindrical part of the separable intermediate shaft part 117B is made larger than the stroke of the actuator, when the intermediate shaft part 117B is separated, the first shaft becomes independent of the lock position of the drive shaft 117. Since the interference between the shaft portion 117A and the second shaft portion 117C is avoided, the link member 11 can be moved to an arbitrary position.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator 200 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a view of the configuration of FIG. In the present embodiment, the electric motor and the drive shaft are in a series position. More specifically, the motor 202 is attached to the cover member 101B side as shown in FIG. The rotation shaft 202a of the motor 202 is coupled to the screw shaft 207 via a coupling 203 supported by a support plate 201C sandwiched between the housing main body 201A and the cover member 201B. The screw shaft 207 extends to the inside of the drive shaft 217 through the nut 215 that can move only in the axial direction relative to the housing main body 201A. The drive shaft 217 is supported by the bush 218 so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction with respect to the housing main body 201 </ b> A, and is sealed by a seal 219.

  In the present embodiment, the drive shaft 217 is coaxially connected to the nut 215 and is connected by a pin so as to move integrally therewith, and the link member 11 (FIG. 1). And a second shaft portion 217B connected by a bolt B, and the axes of the shaft portions coincide with each other in the assembled state.

  The second shaft portion 217B has a shape obtained by joining two semicylindrical portions having different lengths, and a hole 217b is formed in the longer semicylindrical portion. The first shaft portion 217A forms a semi-cylindrical portion corresponding to the end portion of the second shaft portion 217B, and further has a screw hole 217c communicating with the hole 217b. Further, the end portion 217d of the second shaft portion 217B is an arcuate surface having a radius R from the pivot center X (here, the center of the bolt B) when viewed in the direction of FIG. The portion of the first shaft portion 217A corresponding to the first shaft portion 217A may have a planar shape orthogonal to the axis of the drive shaft 217. The first shaft portion 217A and the second shaft portion 217B are connected in series by screwing the small screw SB inserted through the hole 217b into the screw hole 217c. The axial length L of the second shaft portion 217B is greater than the stroke of the drive shaft 217.

  According to the present embodiment, for example, it is assumed that some trouble occurs in the actuator 100 and the drive shaft 217 is locked. Even in such a case, if the machine screw SB is loosened, the second shaft portion 217B is rotated around the pivot center X in the plane of FIG. 4 (that is, the direction intersecting the moving direction of the drive shaft 217). As a result, the second shaft portion 217B can be independently moved with respect to the first shaft portion 217A. For example, the operator directly holds the second shaft portion 217B to directly link the second shaft portion 217B. Can be manually moved to switch the dog clutch 8. Since the length (R) from the pivot axis of the separable second shaft portion 217B to the end portion 217d is larger than the stroke of the actuator, the drive shaft 217 is separated when the second shaft portion 217B is separated. Regardless of the lock position, interference between the first shaft portion 217A and the second shaft portion 217B is avoided, and the link member 11 can be moved to an arbitrary position.

  The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or improved as appropriate.

It is the schematic of the outboard motor using the actuator concerning this Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the actuator of 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which cut | disconnected the structure of FIG. 2 by the III-III line, and looked at the arrow direction. It is sectional drawing of the actuator 200 concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the structure of FIG. 4 in the arrow V direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hull 2 Outboard motor 2a Casing 2b Cowling 3 Output shaft 3a Bevel gear 4 Propeller shaft 5 Propeller 6 Forward bevel gear 7 Reverse bevel gear 8 Dog clutch 9 Cam shaft 10 Operation shaft 11 Link member 12 Breather pipe 100 Actuator 101 Housing 101A Housing body 101B Cover member 101C Motor bracket 101a Motor chamber 101b Screw shaft chamber 101d Hole 102 Motor 102a Rotating shaft 102b Wiring 103 First gear 104 Long shaft 105 Second gear 106 Third gear 106a Large gear portion 106b Small gear portion 107 Screw shaft 107a Male thread groove 108 Support member 109 Fourth gear 109a Large gear portion 109b Small gear portion 110 Short shaft 111 Fifth gear 111a Large gear portion 111b Small gear portion 112 Sixth gear 113 Potentiometer 113a Constant shaft 113b Wiring 114 Ball bearing 115 Nut 115a Female thread groove 116 Ball 117 Drive shaft 117A First shaft portion 117B Intermediate shaft portion 117C Second shaft portion 117a Bag hole 118 Bush 119 Seal 200 Actuator body 201B Cover member 201C Support plate 202 Motor 202a Rotating shaft 203 Coupling 207 Screw shaft 215 Nut 217 Drive shaft 217A First shaft portion 217B Second shaft portion 217b Hole 217c Hole 217d End portion 218 Bush 219 Seal R Radius X Pivot center B Bolt LB Bolt SB Machine screw

Claims (1)

In a marine actuator that drives a driven member,
A housing;
An electric motor mounted in the housing and having a rotating shaft;
A drive mechanism having a drive shaft for driving the driven member by transmitting a rotational force from the rotary shaft;
Part of the drive shaft is separable in a direction intersecting the axis of the drive shaft.

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