JP2010190393A - Actuator for clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an actuator for a clutch which can be miniaturized, capable of outputting large thrust force. <P>SOLUTION: The actuator includes a housing 1, a motor 2, a ball screw deceleration mechanism 3 for decelerating rotation of a screw shaft 4 by the motor and converting the rotation to linear movement of a nut 5, an output rod 50 for taking out the output as the linear movement to the outside of the housing, and a first link mechanism 13 and a second link mechanism 20 for transmitting the linear movement of the nut of the ball screw deceleration mechanism to the output rod. An assist spring 21 for assisting/energizing displacement of the output rod is incorporated in the second link mechanism. Fixed rotation bosses 10, 30 are provided at a fixed position of the housing, and the first link mechanism and the second link mechanism are connected to the fixed rotation bosses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clutch actuator that can output a large thrust and can be miniaturized.

  As clutch actuators for connecting and disconnecting or half-joining (half-cutting) a clutch of an automobile or the like, those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known.

  The clutch actuator described in Patent Document 1 includes an electric motor, a sliding gear reduction mechanism composed of a worm and a wheel for reducing the output rotation, a gear reduction mechanism for reducing the output rotation of the sliding gear reduction mechanism, An output rod that makes a stroke by the output rotation of the gear reduction mechanism and that engages and disengages and half-joins the clutch by the stroke, and an assist spring that assists the stroke of the output rod are provided.

  Further, the clutch actuator described in Patent Document 2 includes an electric motor, a gear reduction mechanism that reduces the output rotation thereof, a sliding screw mechanism that converts the output rotation of the gear reduction mechanism into a linear motion of the output rod, It has.

JP 2008-121714 A JP 2002-213490 A

  Incidentally, since the clutch actuators described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 use a gear reduction mechanism, the reduction portion tends to be large. Further, since a sliding gear reduction mechanism and a sliding screw mechanism are used, there is a problem that transmission loss is large, and therefore it is difficult to output a high thrust with a small size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a clutch actuator that can output a large thrust and can be downsized.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the clutch actuator according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) a housing;
A drive source attached to the housing;
A screw shaft connected to the rotation output shaft of the drive source; a nut provided on an outer periphery of the screw shaft; and a plurality of balls accommodated between the screw shaft and the nut; A ball screw deceleration mechanism that decelerates and converts the linear motion of the nut;
An output rod for taking out the output as linear motion outside the housing;
An output mechanism for transmitting linear motion of the nut of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism to the output rod;
Comprising.
(2) In the clutch actuator configured as described in (1) above,
The output mechanism includes an assist spring for assisting movement of the output rod;
The assist spring assists the movement in the direction when the output rod moves from one end side to the other end side of the moving range, and the assist force is applied to the output rod toward the predetermined stroke. It is incorporated in the link mechanism so that it gradually changes from the minimum to the maximum when moving from one side to the other.
(3) In the clutch actuator configured as described in (2) above,
A fixed rotation shaft is provided at a fixed position of the housing;
A first link mechanism for converting linear motion of the nut into rotational motion of the fixed rotational shaft is coupled to the fixed rotational shaft, and a first link mechanism for converting rotational motion of the fixed rotational shaft into linear motion of the output rod. A two-link mechanism is connected, and the assist spring is incorporated in the second link mechanism.
(4) In the clutch actuator configured as described in (3) above,
4. The clutch according to claim 3, wherein a pair of the fixed rotation shaft, the first link mechanism, and the second link mechanism are respectively disposed on both sides of the screw shaft of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism. Actuator.

  According to the clutch actuator configured as described in (1) above, since the ball screw speed reduction mechanism is used in the speed reduction portion, large speed reduction can be performed with a small transmission loss while reducing the size, and a large thrust is taken out from the output rod. be able to.

  According to the clutch actuator having the configuration (2), the movement of the output rod can be assisted by the assist spring, so that a large thrust can be taken out from the output rod while suppressing the force of the drive source. In particular, the assist spring is incorporated into the link mechanism so that the assisting force by the assist spring gradually increases toward the stroke of the specific output rod. Therefore, the reaction force of the spring on the clutch side and the assisting force by the assist spring are increased. By taking this clutch actuator into the clutch operating mechanism in consideration of the balance with the force, the clutch can be efficiently connected and disconnected while suppressing the output of the drive source to the maximum.

  According to the clutch actuator configured as described in (3) above, the link mechanism that transmits the motion is divided into the first and second link mechanisms with the fixed rotation shaft provided at the fixed position of the housing as a boundary. Since the first link mechanism is connected to the nut of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism and the assist spring is incorporated into the second link mechanism, a complicated link mechanism can be easily assembled by dividing the system. .

  According to the clutch actuator configured as described in (4) above, the fixed rotation shaft, the first link mechanism, and the second link mechanism are arranged in pairs on both sides of the screw shaft of the ball screw reduction mechanism. The movement of the nut can be transmitted to the output rod in a well-balanced manner with the assistance of the assist spring.

It is a block diagram which shows the 1st operation state (The state at the time of connection of a constant connection type clutch and the state when an output rod is retracting) of the actuator for clutches of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which takes out and shows the principal part of the actuator for clutches. It is a front view which shows the principal part of the actuator for clutches seeing from the output side. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd operation state (The state at the time of cutting | disconnection from the half cut | disconnection of a constant connection type clutch, and the output rod is extending | stretching) of the actuator for clutches. It is a block diagram which takes out and shows the assembly of the ball screw speed-reduction mechanism and the 1st link mechanism in the actuator for clutches. It is a block diagram which takes out and shows the 2nd link mechanism containing the assist spring in the actuator for clutches, (a) is a drawing side rather than the balance position where an output rod balances the actuator output and the spring force of a clutch spring. The case where the output rod is located at the stopper position retracted from the straight line between the assist spring and the fixed shaft is shown, and (b) shows the case where the output rod is located on the straight line between the assist spring and the fixed shaft. It is a block diagram which takes out and shows the 2nd link mechanism containing the assist spring in the actuator for clutches, (a) shows the case where an output rod exists in the balance position where the spring force of an actuator output and a clutch spring balances. , (B) shows the case where the output rod is in the position where the full stroke is pushed out. It is a block diagram of the actuator for clutches of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  A clutch actuator according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The actuator includes a housing 1, an electric motor (drive source) 2 attached to the housing 1, a screw shaft 4 housed in the housing 1 and connected to a rotation output shaft of the motor 2, and a screw shaft thereof. 4, a nut 5 provided on the outer periphery of the screw 4, a screw shaft 4, and a number of balls (not shown) accommodated between the nuts 5, and the rotational motion of the screw shaft 4 is decelerated to the linear motion of the nut 5 and converted. The ball screw speed reducing mechanism 3, the output rod 50 for taking out the output as a linear motion (movement in the direction of arrow A) outside the housing 1, and the linear motion of the nut 5 of the ball screw speed reducing mechanism 3 housed inside the housing 1. The first link mechanism 13 and the second link mechanism 20 (output mechanism) that transmit to the output rod 50 are provided. The second link mechanism 20 includes an assist spring 21 that assists the movement of the output rod 50. In this case, in this embodiment, since the actuator is incorporated in the operation mechanism of the always-connected clutch, the output rod 50 receives a spring force of the clutch spring (mating spring load: see FIG. 7). It is added toward the retracting side of the output rod 50.

  A fixed shaft 11 is provided at a predetermined position of the housing 1, and first and second fixed rotation bosses (fixed rotation shafts) 10 and 30 are fitted to the fixed shaft 11 so as to freely rotate. ing. The first and second fixed rotation bosses 10 and 30 are engaged with each other by an engagement means 31 (for example, a concave portion and a convex portion that fit with each other) so that they can rotate integrally.

  The first fixed rotation boss 10 is connected to the first link mechanism 13 that converts the linear motion of the nut 5 into the rotation motion of the fixed rotation boss 10, and the second fixed rotation boss 30 is the fixed rotation boss 30. It is connected to the second link mechanism 20 that converts the rotational motion of 30 into the linear motion of the output rod 50.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the first link mechanism 13 includes a first link 6 having a base end rotatably connected to the nut 5 via a pin 7, and a pin connected to the distal end of the first link 6. A base end is rotatably connected via 8 and a second link 9 is integrally connected to the first fixed rotation boss 10 at the distal end.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second link mechanism 20 includes an L-shaped first link 26 in which the tip of one arm is integrally connected to the second fixed rotation boss 30, and this L A second link 29 having a base end pivotably connected to a bent portion of the first link 26 via a pin 27 and a tip end pivotally connected to a base portion of the output rod 50 via a pin 28; A linear telescopic assist spring 21 having one end connected to the tip of the other arm of the L-shaped first link 26 via a pin 25 and the other end rotatably connected to the fixed shaft 24 of the housing 1; , Is composed of.

  In the present embodiment, the first link mechanism 13 and the second link mechanism 20 including the fixed rotary bosses 10 and 30 are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the screw shaft 4 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the screw shaft 4 and the output rod 50 are out of position so that they do not interfere with each other.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a moving side of the assist spring 21 with respect to a straight line L connecting the fixed end (the position of the fixed shaft 24) of the assist spring 21 and the fixed shaft 11 provided in the housing 1. Depending on where the tip position (the position of the pin 25) is, the direction of the urging force that the assist spring 21 applies to the L-shaped first link 26 is determined, and the operation point (the pin 25 is on the straight line L) is determined. The direction of the force applied to the output rod 50 is switched at a point). Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the output rod 50 passes from one end side (moving end on the drawing side) of the moving range shown in FIG. 6 (a) to the operation conversion point shown in FIG. 6 (b). When moving to the other end side (moving end on the pushing side), the assist spring 21 can assist the movement in the pushing direction.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second link mechanism 20 that moves the output rod 50 by the spring force of the assist spring 21 is disposed symmetrically to each other, so that the assist force by the assist spring 21 is increased. When the output rod 50 moves from one end side to the other end side toward a predetermined stroke (position shown in FIG. 7A), it gradually changes from the minimum to the maximum. For example, when the second link mechanism 20 is located at the position shown in FIG. 6B, the pin 25 is on the straight line L. Therefore, the force of the assist spring 21 is totally as a force for rotating the L-shaped first link 26. Although not acting, as the second link mechanism 20 moves from the position of FIG. 6B to the position of FIG. 7A, the force of the assist spring 21 gradually turns the force that rotates the L-shaped first link 26. To act as. 7A, the force of the assist spring 21 can be reflected as the force that pushes the output rod 50 to the maximum from the positional relationship between the fixed shaft 24 and the pins 25, 27, 28, and the like. It becomes like this.

  In addition, the clutch is set to be disengaged at a point where the maximum assist force by the assist spring 21 can be obtained (stroke position of the output rod 50 shown in FIG. 7A). The balance position is determined so that the spring force (reaction force in the direction in which the output rod 50 is pushed in) and the thrust force by the assist spring 21 (force to push out the output rod 50) are balanced. Specifically, in the present embodiment, in the output rod 50 having a total stroke of 20 mm, the balance position is set to a position protruding about 12 mm from the position where the output rod 20 is most retracted (position in FIG. 6A). Has been. The stroke of the output rod 20, the load setting, and the balance position can be arbitrarily set.

  When operating an always-on type clutch, it is important to push the output rod 50 in order to disengage the clutch (a large thrust is required). At that time, a sufficient assist force (assist force) by the assist spring 21 is used. Is transmitted to the output rod 50. When the second link mechanism 20 is displaced to the position shown in FIG. 7A, the force of the assist spring 21 alone resists the reaction force of the clutch spring. The clutch plate can be held in the disengaged position (in balance with the reaction force). In other words, at this stage, the force of the motor 2 is not required at all (even when the motor 2 is stopped), and a balanced state can be maintained only by balancing the thrust by the assist spring 21 and the reaction force of the clutch spring. it can.

  Further, when returning from the position of FIG. 7A to the position shown in FIG. 6B (with the output rod 50 retracted), the assist spring 21 is controlled by the motor 2 while utilizing the reaction force of the clutch spring. The second link mechanism 20 is displaced against the spring force. Thus, by utilizing the reaction force of the clutch spring, the position of the output rod 50 can be controlled with a small force of the motor 2.

Further, half-clutch control can be performed in the middle of this stage, and when the half-clutch stage is passed, the clutch is completely connected. Until then, the output rod 50 can be retracted using the force of the clutch spring, so that the load on the motor 2 can be minimized. Further, as the position of FIG. 7A approaches the position of FIG. 6B, the force transmitted from the assist spring 21 to the output rod 50 decreases, so that the reaction force of the clutch spring is reduced with the complete engagement of the clutch. Even if it cannot be used, the output rod 50 can be easily displaced to the position shown in FIG.

  Finally, the second link mechanism 20 is displaced to the position shown in FIG. 6A beyond the operation conversion point shown in FIG. Then, when the second link mechanism 20 exceeds the operation conversion point, the force of the assist spring 21 acts as a force in the direction in which the output rod 50 is retracted.

Next, the operation will be described.
When the motor 2 is rotated from the state of FIG. 1, the nut 5 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3 moves linearly in the right direction in FIG. 1, and the fixed rotation boss 10 is moved in the B direction in FIG. 5 by the action of the first link mechanism 13. Rotate. When the fixed rotating boss 10 rotates in the B direction, the fixed rotating boss 30 and the fixed rotating boss 30 are engaged with each other on the fixed shaft 11, so that the fixed rotating boss 30 rotates in the same direction, thereby the second The L-shaped first link 26 of the link mechanism 20 also rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the second link 29, and the output rod 50 linearly moves in the right direction in the drawing. At that time, the assist force of the assist spring 21 starts to be applied to the output rod 50 when the position of the pin 25 at the tip of the assist spring 21 exceeds the operation conversion point (becomes inside the straight line L).

As the second link mechanism 20 approaches the position of FIG. 7A, the spring force of the assist spring 21 is transmitted to the output rod 50 as a large thrust, and the output rod 50 resists the spring force of the clutch spring. Then, operate the clutch to the disengagement side. At this stage, the thrust transmitted from the assist spring 21 to the output rod 50 is sufficiently antagonized by the reaction force of the clutch spring. It can be displaced to the position shown. Then, when the second link mechanism 20 finally reaches the position of FIG. 7A, the motor 2 is stopped. Then, the clutch disengaged state of FIG. 7A is maintained by the balance between the thrust by the assist spring 21 and the spring force of the clutch spring.

  Further, when the clutch is connected from the clutch disengaged state of FIGS. 4 and 7A, the motor 2 is rotated in the opposite direction. Then, the nut 5 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3 moves linearly in the left direction in FIG. 4, and the fixed rotation bosses 10 and 30 rotate in the direction C in FIG. 5 by the action of the first link mechanism 13. When the fixed rotation boss 30 rotates in the C direction, the L-shaped first link 26 of the second link mechanism 20 also rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the second link 29, and the output rod 50 moves linearly in the left direction in the figure. To do.

  At this time, since the reaction force by the clutch spring acts in the direction in which the output rod 50 is retracted, the output rod 50 can be retracted with a small force while resisting the thrust by the assist spring 21, and the clutch is shifted to the connected state. Can do. When half-clutch control is performed, the position of the output rod 50 is controlled by adjusting the current of the motor 2 before the clutch is completely engaged. At this time, since the position of the output rod 50 can be controlled by the motor 2 near the point where the thrust force of the assist spring 21 and the reaction force of the clutch spring balance, delicate control is performed only with the force of the small motor 2. be able to.

  Finally, from the position of FIG. 6B to the position of FIG. 6A, that is, the position of the pin 25 at the tip of the assist spring 21 exceeds the operation conversion point (outside the straight line L). The second link mechanism 20 is operated to the position. Then, the force of the assist spring 21 will act as a force in the direction in which the output rod 50 is pulled in this time. Therefore, the second link mechanism 20 is stopped by the inner wall of the housing 1 at a position where this force is small. By doing so, the state of FIG. 6A can be maintained.

  Thus, since the clutch actuator of the embodiment uses the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3 in the speed reduction portion, it is possible to perform a large speed reduction with a small transmission loss while reducing the size, and to extract a large thrust from the output rod 50. be able to. Further, since the assist spring 21 can assist the movement of the output rod 50, a large thrust can be taken out from the output rod 50 while suppressing the force of the motor 2.

  In particular, by incorporating the assist spring 21 into the second link mechanism 20, the assisting force by the assist spring 21 is gradually increased toward the stroke of the specific output rod 50 (position protruding by 12 mm). In consideration of the balance between the reaction force of the clutch spring and the assisting force of the assist spring 21, the clutch actuator is incorporated into the clutch operating mechanism, so that the output of the motor 2 is suppressed to the maximum while the clutch is efficiently operated. Can be intermittent. Therefore, the motor 2 can be miniaturized, and the merit that can contribute to the miniaturization of the entire actuator is also obtained.

  In the actuator of this embodiment, the link mechanism that transmits the motion is divided into the first and second link mechanisms 13 and 20 with the fixed rotation boss 11 provided at the fixed position of the housing 1 as a boundary. The first link mechanism 13 is connected to the nut 5 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3 and the assist spring 21 is incorporated in the second link mechanism 20, so that a complicated link mechanism can be simply assembled by dividing the system. Can be.

  In the actuator of the present embodiment, the fixed rotation boss 11, the first link mechanism 13, and the second link mechanism 20 are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the screw shaft 4 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 3, so that the ball screw speed reduction The movement of the nut 5 of the mechanism 3 can be transmitted to the output rod 50 in a well-balanced manner while receiving the assistance of the assist spring 21, and a smooth movement can be realized.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the clutch actuator of the second embodiment of the present invention.
This actuator is provided with only one second link mechanism including a first link mechanism and an assist spring.

  The clutch actuator includes a housing 101, an electric motor (drive source) 102 attached to the housing 101, a screw shaft 104 housed in the housing 101 and connected to the rotation output shaft of the motor 102, A nut 105 provided on the outer periphery of the screw shaft 104, a plurality of balls (not shown) accommodated between the screw shaft 104 and the nut 105, and the rotational motion of the screw shaft 104 is converted into a linear motion (arrow A) A ball screw speed reduction mechanism 103 that decelerates and converts it into a movement in a direction), an output rod 150 that takes out an output as a linear motion outside the housing 101, and a straight line of a nut 105 of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism 103 that is housed inside the housing 101. The first link mechanism 113 and the second link mechanism 120 that transmit motion to the output rod 150 And a output mechanism). The second link mechanism 120 includes an assist spring 121 that assists the movement of the output rod 150.

  A fixed shaft 111 is provided at a predetermined position of the housing 101, and first and second fixed rotating bosses (fixed rotating shafts) 110 and 130 are fitted to the fixed shaft 111 so as to be rotatable. ing. These first and second fixed rotation bosses 110 and 130 are engaged so as to be able to rotate integrally.

  The first fixed rotation boss 110 is connected to a first link mechanism 113 that converts the linear motion of the nut 105 into the rotation motion of the fixed rotation boss 110, and the second fixed rotation boss 130 is connected to the fixed rotation boss 130. It is connected to the second link mechanism 120 that converts the rotational motion of 130 into the linear motion of the output rod 150.

  The first link mechanism 113 includes a first link 106 having a base end rotatably connected to the nut 105 via a pin 107, and a base end rotatable via a pin 108 to the distal end of the first link 106. And a second link 109 integrally connected to the first fixed rotation boss 110.

  In the second link mechanism 120, the tip of one arm is integrally connected to the second fixed rotation boss 130, and the bent portion is rotatably connected to the base of the output rod 150 via a pin 128. One end of the link 126 is connected to the tip of the other arm of the link 126 via a pin 125, and the other end of the link 126 is connected to a fixed shaft 124 of the housing 101 so as to be rotatable. And is composed of.

  Also in this case, the position of the tip of the assist spring 121 on the movable side (the position of the pin 125) with respect to the straight line L connecting the fixed end of the assist spring 121 (the position of the fixed shaft 124) and the fixed shaft 111 provided on the housing 101. ) Determines the direction of the biasing force applied to the link 126 by the assist spring 121, and the force applied to the output rod 150 at a certain operation conversion point (the point where the pin 125 is on the straight line L). The direction of is to be switched. Therefore, when the output rod 150 moves from one end side of the moving range (moving end on the drawing side) to the other end side (moving end on the pushing side) beyond the operation conversion point, the assist spring 121 moves in the pushing direction. Can help to move.

  At this time, the assisting force by the assist spring 121 changes gradually from the minimum to the maximum when moving from one end side to the other end side toward a predetermined stroke in the middle of the movement range of the output rod 50. . In addition, the clutch can be disengaged at the point where the maximum assist force can be obtained by the assist spring 121, and at that point, the spring force of the clutch spring (reaction force in the direction of pushing the output rod 150), The balance position is determined so that the thrust by the assist spring 121 (force to push the output rod 150) is balanced. The method of setting that part is the same as in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, only one set of the first link mechanism 113 and the second link mechanism 120 including the fixed rotating bosses 110 and 130 is provided, and the operation is the same as in the first embodiment. Description is omitted.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

1,101 Housing 2,102 Motor (drive source)
3,103 Ball screw reduction mechanism 4,104 Screw shaft 5,105 Nut 10, 30, 110, 130 Fixed rotating boss (fixed rotating shaft)
13, 113 First link mechanism 20, 120 Second link mechanism 21, 121 Assist spring

Claims (4)

A housing;
A drive source attached to the housing;
A screw shaft connected to the rotation output shaft of the drive source; a nut provided on an outer periphery of the screw shaft; and a plurality of balls accommodated between the screw shaft and the nut; A ball screw deceleration mechanism that decelerates and converts the linear motion of the nut;
An output rod for taking out the output as linear motion outside the housing;
An output mechanism for transmitting linear motion of the nut of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism to the output rod;
A clutch actuator comprising: The output mechanism includes an assist spring for assisting movement of the output rod;
The assist spring assists the movement in the direction when the output rod moves from one end side to the other end side of the moving range, and the assist force is applied to the output rod toward the predetermined stroke. The clutch actuator according to claim 1, wherein the clutch actuator is incorporated in the link mechanism so as to gradually change from the minimum to the maximum when moving from the side to the other end side. A fixed rotation shaft is provided at a fixed position of the housing;
A first link mechanism for converting linear motion of the nut into rotational motion of the fixed rotational shaft is coupled to the fixed rotational shaft, and a first link mechanism for converting rotational motion of the fixed rotational shaft into linear motion of the output rod. The clutch actuator according to claim 2, wherein a two-link mechanism is connected, and the assist spring is incorporated in the second link mechanism.   4. The clutch according to claim 3, wherein a pair of the fixed rotation shaft, the first link mechanism, and the second link mechanism are respectively disposed on both sides of the screw shaft of the ball screw speed reduction mechanism. Actuator.

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