JP2016217995A - Shaft type torque converter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shaft type torque converter capable of continuously and accurately measuring torque acting on a rotary shaft having high speed rotation.SOLUTION: A shaft type torque converter 1 for converting torque acting on a rotary shaft into an output signal comprises: a rotary shaft 100 on which the torque acts; a shaft support part 200 for rotatably supporting the rotary shaft; and a torque detection part 300 for detecting the torque acting on the rotary shaft to transmit a detection signal. The torque detection part comprises: a torque detection element 310 for detecting the torque of the rotary shaft; a light-emitting part 330 for emitting light using a torque value obtained from the torque detection element as an optical signal α; a light guide part 340 for light-guiding the optical signal from the light-emitting part; and a light receiving part 350 for light-receiving the optical signal radiated from the light guide part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a shaft type torque converter used for torque measurement of, for example, inspection equipment for automobile parts, a generator, a motor and the like.

  For example, inspection equipment for automobile parts, and a shaft-type torque converter used for measuring torque of a generator or a motor are conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The configuration of the shaft-type torque converter described in Patent Document 1 is provided on a substrate fixed to a casing, and a detection circuit that processes an electrical signal from a strain gauge and transmits it as a detection signal by infrared communication. And an output circuit for receiving a detection signal from the detection circuit and outputting the same to the outside.

JP 2014-098718 A

  When torque measurement is performed using a shaft-type torque converter as described in Patent Document 1, the rotation shaft may be rotated at a very high speed of, for example, 25,000 rpm. In this case, the rotating shaft and the rotating shaft fixing portion (stator) are firmly fixed to each other by the bearings, and the constantly changing torque signal detected by the rotating shaft is always transmitted accurately to the rotating shaft fixing portion without interruption. A non-contact signal transmission structure is required.

  Along with this, in the case of a shaft type torque converter, not only a strain gauge for torque detection but also a small output signal obtained from this strain gauge on the rotating shaft and variously transmitted to the fixed rotation part at all times. It is indispensable to mount various electronic parts and electric parts on the rotating shaft.

  The reason is that when measuring the torque of a generator or motor, the torque changes abruptly in a short time, so if the transmission of the output signal is interrupted even for a short time, the output signal of this part can be obtained on the fixed side Thus, it becomes extremely difficult to predict and calculate the missing output signal. This is because if this output signal is estimated for a part of the output signal that could not be transmitted, it does not match the actual torque characteristic value.

  In the shaft-type torque converter described in Patent Document 1, the above-described electronic components and electrical components are mounted on a disk-shaped substrate provided on a rotating shaft, but the rotation rotates at a high speed as described above. No mention is made of a configuration in which an output signal from a strain gauge provided on the shaft is continuously and continuously transmitted to the rotation fixing portion.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shaft type torque converter capable of accurately measuring continuously and continuously torque acting on a rotating shaft that rotates at a high speed.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an axial torque converter according to claim 1 of the present invention provides:
In a shaft type torque converter that converts torque acting on the rotating shaft into an output signal,
A rotation shaft on which torque acts, a shaft support portion that rotatably supports the rotation shaft, and a torque detection portion that detects a torque acting on the rotation shaft and transmits a detection signal,
The torque detection unit includes a torque detection element that detects the torque of the rotating shaft, a light emitting unit that emits light using a torque value obtained from the torque detection element as an optical signal, and guides the optical signal from the light emission unit. And a light receiving unit that receives the optical signal emitted from the light guiding unit.

Moreover, the shaft type torque converter according to claim 2 of the present invention is the shaft type torque converter according to claim 1,
The light emitting unit is arranged on the rotating side, and the light receiving unit is arranged on the fixed side.

Moreover, the shaft type torque converter according to claim 3 of the present invention is the shaft type torque converter according to claim 1 or 2,
The light guide unit is provided on a support plate attached to the rotating shaft, and the light emitting unit is disposed on the support plate so as to face a light incident surface of the light guide unit. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial torque converter according to the third aspect, wherein:
The light guide section is fixed to a cylindrical fixing member on the outer periphery of the light guide section.

Moreover, the shaft type torque converter according to claim 5 of the present invention is the shaft type torque converter according to claim 1 or 2,
The light guide section is provided on the fixed side and is disposed so as to surround a support plate attached to the rotation side.

The shaft type torque converter according to claim 6 of the present invention is the shaft type torque converter according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The light emitting unit includes at least one light emitting element, and the light guide unit includes at least one light guide plate.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the shaft type torque converter which can always measure continuously and correctly the torque which acts on the rotating shaft which rotates at high speed can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the shaft type torque converter which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention partially in cross section. It is a perspective view which shows the torque detection part shown in FIG. It is detail drawing which shows partially the periphery of the light-guide plate which removed one board member of the torque detection part shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the shaft type torque converter shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the axial type torque converter which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention partially in cross section. It is a figure which shows the axial type torque converter which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention partially in cross section. It is a perspective view which shows the torque detection part and housing which were shown in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a shaft type torque converter 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the torque detector 300 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed view partially showing the periphery of the light guide plate from which one plate member 500b of the torque detector 300 shown in FIG. 1 is removed.

  In FIG. 1, the electrical connection relationship of each component is not shown. In the following description, the rotation side is a generic name for so-called rotating parts such as the rotation shaft 100 and the support plate 500, and the fixed side is the shaft support part 200, the housing 400, the circuit board 615 provided for the same, and the like. This is a general term for fixed parts that do not rotate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the shaft type torque converter 1 includes a rotating shaft 100, a shaft support part 200, a torque detection part 300, and a housing 400. The torque detection unit 300 includes a torque detection element 310 that detects the torque of the rotary shaft 100, a light emission unit 330 that emits light using the torque value obtained from the torque detection element 310 as an optical signal α, and light from the light emission unit 330. The light guide part 340 which guides the signal (alpha) and the light-receiving part 350 which light-receives the optical signal (alpha) irradiated from the light guide part 340 are provided.

  The rotating shaft 100 is made of a metal shaft, and a torque is applied when an inspection facility for an automobile part as a measurement object, a generator, a motor, or the like is operated. The rotation shaft 100 is partially formed with a torque detection shaft portion 110 having an outer diameter smaller than that of the rotation shaft 100, and a torque detection element 310 is attached to the torque detection shaft portion 110. A rotation side coil 603, which will be described later, is fixed to the rotation shaft 100.

  The shaft support unit 200 includes a bearing 210 and fixes the rotary shaft 100 so as to be rotatable.

  The torque detection unit 300 includes a torque detection element 310, a light emitting unit 330, a light guide unit 340, and a light receiving unit 350. Torque acting on the rotating shaft 100 is detected by the torque detector 300, and this detection signal is transmitted to the fixed side detection circuit 700, and an output signal corresponding to the torque is taken out.

  The torque detection element 310 is disposed in the circumferential direction of the torque detection shaft portion 110 formed on the rotating shaft 100. The torque detection element 310 is a Wheatstone bridge circuit configured by a strain gauge, and although a detailed configuration is not shown here, the strain gauge includes a flexible sheet made of, for example, polyimide resin, and the like. A strain gauge element formed by folding a narrow copper foil pattern on a sheet into a ninety-nine fold shape with a narrow interval, and the same direction as the extension direction of each element from both ends of the strain gauge element And a rectangular solder tab formed so as to be connected to each pattern extending portion.

  The light emitting unit 330 includes a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as “light emitting element 330”). The light emitting element 330 emits light according to the output of the torque detecting element 310. In the case of this embodiment, the light emitting element 330 is attached to a support plate 500 described later.

  The support plate 500 is configured by substantially the same type of disc-shaped plate members 500a and 500b and a disc member 500c having a smaller diameter and a thickness between the plate members 500a and 500b. Specifically, the plate member 500a is formed of a so-called PCB, which is a so-called PCB having a predetermined thickness and diameter and formed in a disk shape, for example. The plate member 500b is made of a printed circuit board or a plate formed of a resin or the like having a predetermined thickness and diameter, for example. Further, the disk member 500c is made of a member formed of resin or the like, and these members are coupled using an adhesive or the like and rotate together with the rotating shaft 100. A light guide 340 described later is wound around and fixed to the periphery of the disk member 500c of the support plate 500. Since the disk member 500c has a smaller diameter than the plate members 500a and 500b, when the light guide unit 340 is wound, the disk member 500c can be disposed between the plate members 500a and 500b and can be easily attached. Further, when the plate member 500b is formed of resin, it may be formed integrally with the disk member 500c.

  Components of the rotation side control circuit 600 are mounted on the plate member 500 a of the support plate 500. The rotation-side control circuit 600 is evenly arranged with a good balance around the central axis of the rotary shaft 100 so that the support plate 500 does not shake when the rotary shaft 100 rotates at a high speed. In addition, a circuit pattern (not shown) is formed on the support plate 500, and the rotation-side control circuit 600 and the light emitting element 330 are electrically connected. When the plate member 500b is also formed of a printed circuit board, components of the rotation side control circuit 600 may be mounted in the same manner as the plate member 500a.

  The light guide unit 340 (hereinafter referred to as “light guide plate 340”) is a light guide member formed of a long and thin resin such as polycarbonate, and has a light emitting surface 340a and a light incident surface 340b. The light incident from the light incident surface 340b is a light guide member that is emitted from the light emitting surface 340a after the optical path is changed inside the light guide 340. The light guide member will be described in detail. Grooves and dots are formed on the surface opposite to the light emitting surface 340a, and a light reflecting surface for reflecting light is formed. The incident light is incident on these grooves and dots. The light path is changed, and light directed toward the surface opposite to the light emitting surface 340a is reflected, whereby light is emitted from the light emitting surface 340a.

  The light guide plate 340 is attached to the outer periphery of the support plate 500. Specifically, the light guide plate 340 is fixed by an adhesive or the like with the long side of the light guide plate 340 wound around the disc member 500c of the support plate 500 so that the outer peripheral surface becomes the light emitting surface 340a. The light emitting element 330 is disposed so as to face the light incident surface 340b of the light guide plate 340. When the light signal α is emitted from the light emitting element 330, the light is transmitted through the light guide plate 340 and forms the outer peripheral surface of the light guide plate 340. The light is emitted outward from the entire light emitting surface 340a with uniform illuminance in the circumferential direction. That is, the light guide unit 340 transmits the optical signal α from the light emitting element 330 to the fixed light receiving unit 350 described later in a non-contact manner. In the case of this embodiment, when the light guide plate 340 is wound around the disc member 500c of the support plate 500, a gap of a certain distance is formed in the circumferential direction. And the light emitting element 330 is arrange | positioned in this clearance gap.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the light emitting element 330 is composed of one light emitting diode directed only to one light incident surface 340b of the light guide plate 340. However, two light emitting elements 330 are prepared and the other light emitting element 330 is prepared. The light emitting element may be disposed toward the other light incident surface of the light guide plate 340 (see the light emitting element 330a indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3).

  The light receiving unit 350 is attached to the circuit board 615 on the fixed side. In this embodiment, the light receiving unit 350 includes a single light receiving element (hereinafter referred to as “light receiving element 350”) made of a photodiode or a phototransistor. The optical signal α irradiated from the light emitting surface 340a of the optical plate 340 is received and converted into an electrical signal.

  The housing 400 is made of, for example, metal, and includes bearings 210 on both side portions 401a and 401b via the shaft support portion 200, and includes a cylindrical upper portion 402 and a flat bottom portion 403 (see FIG. 7). In the meantime, a stationary coil 602 of an electromagnetic coil 601 described later is fixed. Then, electric power is supplied from the fixed side to the rotating side by electromagnetic induction in a combination of the fixed side coil 602 and the rotating side coil 603. Since the housing 400 is combined with the shaft support portion 200 to form a sealed space, the housing 400 has a function of shielding external light existing outside so as not to enter the light receiving element 350. The housing 400 has been described as having a cylindrical upper portion 402 and a flat bottom portion 403. However, the bottom portion 403 may be cylindrical, and the housing 400 may have a cylindrical shape as a whole, and vice versa. The upper portion 402 may be flat and the housing 400 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole.

  The circuit board 615 is arranged on the fixed side with the light receiving element 350 and the fixed side detection circuit 700 attached thereto. The fixed side detection circuit 700 is electrically connected to a connector 616 disposed outside the upper portion 402 of the housing 400 by a lead wire 350a. The connector 616 performs input / output of signals with the outside.

  FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the shaft type torque converter 1 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the shaft-type torque converter 1 includes an electromagnetic coil 601 that forms a rotary transformer, a rotation-side control circuit 600, and a fixed-side detection circuit 700.

  Electric power is transmitted to the rotating side coil 603 of the electromagnetic coil 601 from the fixed side coil 602 of the facing electromagnetic coil 601, and the fixed side coil 602 is supplied with an oscillation circuit 702 using a power source 703 as a power source, for example, 15 to 20 kHz. Electric power is applied by oscillating an alternating voltage of a certain frequency.

  The rotation side control circuit 600 includes a smoothing circuit 604, a stabilizing power supply circuit 605, a strain gauge power supply circuit 606, a Wheatstone bridge circuit 607, an amplifier 608, a filter circuit 609, a voltage / frequency converter 610, and the like.

  The fixed side detection circuit 700 includes an amplifier 701, an oscillation circuit 702, a power supply 703, an AGC circuit 704, a waveform shaping circuit 705, a frequency / voltage conversion circuit 706, a low-pass filter circuit 707, an output buffer circuit 708, an output terminal 709, and the like. Yes.

  In the rotation-side control circuit 600 and the fixed-side detection circuit 700, the power source of the Wheatstone bridge circuit 607 formed of a strain gauge is a smoothing circuit 604 that rectifies and smoothes the AC voltage induced in the rotation-side coil 603 of the electromagnetic coil 601. It is obtained from the strain gauge power supply circuit 606 that uses a DC power supply with a small ripple voltage, further reduces fluctuations in the power supply voltage as much as possible by the stabilized power supply circuit 605, and uses the voltage necessary for the Wheatstone bridge circuit 607.

  The output of the Wheatstone bridge circuit 607 is amplified by the amplifier 608, and after the noise of the extra frequency component is removed by the filter circuit 609, in order to remove the non-linear effects of the light emitting element 330 and the light receiving element 350 to be used later, The signal is converted into a frequency-modulated signal by a voltage / frequency converter (V / F converter) 610 that converts the magnitude into a frequency level.

  Then, the optical signal α emitted from the light emitting element 330 is transmitted by the light guide plate 340 and received by the light receiving element 350. At this time, since the electrical signal received by the light receiving element 350 has a small amplitude, the amplitude variation is adjusted by an AGC circuit (Automatic Gain control Circuit) 704 and the amplitude is amplified to a logic level. The amplified signal is converted into a voltage fluctuation by a frequency / voltage conversion circuit (F / V conversion) 706 through a waveform shaping circuit 705, and further unnecessary noise components are removed by a low-pass filter circuit 707.

  The low-pass filter circuit 707 uses, for example, a known secondary or tertiary Butterworth filter. The low-pass filter circuit 707 is connected to the output buffer circuit 708, and a measured value of torque is given to the output terminal 709.

  In the above description, the output signal from the Wheatstone bridge circuit is analog-modulated and transmitted as an analog signal. However, the signal may be A / D converted into a digital signal, and further modulated if necessary. . In that case, the signal received on the fixed side may be output as a digital signal, or may be D / A converted and output as an analog signal.

  As described above, in the shaft type torque converter 1, the torque information of the rotating shaft 100 detected by the torque detection element 310 is emitted by the light emitting element 330, and the optical signal α from the light emitting element 330 is transmitted to the light guide plate 340. While being transmitted from the light incident surface 340 b through the light guide plate 340, the light is emitted from the light emitting surface 340 a that is the outer peripheral surface of the light guide plate 340 to the outside and is received by the light receiving element 350. That is, while the rotating shaft 100 is rotating, the optical signal α can be transmitted from the light emitting element 330 to the light receiving element 350 without interruption, and the torque acting on the rotating shaft 100 rotating at high speed is always continuously and accurately measured. Make it possible.

  Note that according to the axial torque converter 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the number of the light emitting elements 330 is one and the number of the light guide plates 340 is one, so that the productivity is improved and the cost is reduced. be able to. However, as described above, one light emitting element 330 may be disposed opposite to the light incident surfaces at both ends of the light guide plate 340. Thereby, the illumination intensity of the light emission surface 340a of the light-guide plate 340 can be raised more, and an illumination nonuniformity becomes difficult to generate | occur | produce. As a result, even if dirt or the like slightly adheres to the light emitting surface 340a of the light guide plate 340, the torque can be accurately detected over a long period without affecting the measurement accuracy.

  Next, the shaft type torque converter 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the shaft type torque converter 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different configurations will be described.

  The shaft type torque converter 2 of the present embodiment includes a cylindrical member 510 on the outer periphery of the plate member 500 a of the support plate 500. The cylindrical member 510 is formed of a transparent resin such as polycarbonate in a cylindrical shape, and is fixed to the outer peripheral surface side of the light guide plate 340. Since the thickness of the cylindrical member 510 is as thin as about 0.5 mm, for example, the optical signal α emitted from the light emitting surface 340 a of the light guide plate 340 can be transmitted to the light receiving element 350 without being attenuated.

  As described above, in the axial torque converter 2, the torque information of the rotating shaft 100 detected by the torque detection element 310 is emitted by the light emitting element 330, and the optical signal α from the light emitting element 330 is transmitted to the light guide plate 340. While being transmitted from the light incident surface 340 b through the light guide plate 340, the light emitting surface 340 a, which is the outer peripheral surface, is further uniformly irradiated outward through the cylindrical member 510 and received by the light receiving element 350.

  In the present embodiment, since the light guide plate 340 is disposed inside the cylindrical member 510, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the rotating shaft 100 rotates at a high speed and a large centrifugal force acts on the light guide plate 340. Even so, since the cylindrical member 510 on the outer side firmly holds it, the concentricity of the light guide plate 340 can always be ensured even if the rotating shaft 100 rotates at high speed. As a result, the distance between the light emitting surface 340a of the light guide plate 340 and the light receiving element 350 can be kept constant regardless of the rotational position of the rotating shaft, and accurate torque detection can be ensured over a long period of time. it can. In the first embodiment, the support plate 500 and the light guide plate 340 need to be fixed with an adhesive or the like. However, in the second embodiment, an adhesive is unnecessary or an adhesive that is temporarily fixed. The light guide plate 340 can be fixed to the support plate 500 by using it.

  Then, the shaft type torque converter 3 which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on drawing. FIG. 6 is a view partially showing a cross section of the shaft type torque converter 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the torque detector 300 and the housing 400 shown in FIG.

  In the axial torque converter 3 according to the present embodiment, the light guide plate 340 is arranged on the fixed side. More specifically, a convex portion 405 having an inner peripheral surface with a constant interval is formed around the support plate 500 in the housing 400. A light guide plate 341 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the convex portion 405. That is, the light guide plate 341 is provided on the fixed side and is disposed so as to surround the support plate 500a attached to the rotation side. The light guide plate 341 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the convex portion 405 with a gap formed between the both end portions thereof in the circumferential direction by a certain distance.

  A light receiving element 350 that is electrically connected to a circuit board 615 fixed to the housing 400 is disposed in the gap. The light receiving surface of the light receiving element 350 faces one end surface (light emitting surface) 341 c of the light guide plate 341. Further, three light emitting elements 330 are arranged in the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the support plate 500a so as to irradiate outward at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. As a result, the torque information of the rotating shaft 100 detected by the torque detection element 310 is emitted by the light emitting element 330, and the optical signal α from the light emitting element 330 is incident from the light incident surface 341 b of the light guide plate 341. The light is emitted from the light emitting surface 341c while being transmitted through the inside, and the light signal α is received by the light receiving element 350, so that the light signal α is reliably transmitted.

  As is clear from the above description, the light guide plate 341 according to the present embodiment is different from the light guide plate 340 according to the above-described embodiment, and instead of the outer peripheral surface thereof emitting light, the incident surface consisting of the entire inner peripheral surface thereof. The light signal α from the light guide plate 341 is transmitted to the inside of the light guide plate 341, and the aggregated light signal α is irradiated from the light emitting surface 341 c and is always received by the light receiving element 330.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, since the light guide plate 341 can be arranged on the fixed side, the number of components mounted on the support plate 500 is reduced, thereby reducing the size and weight. Can be planned. As a result, the inertia weight and air resistance accompanying the rotation of the rotating shaft 100 can be reduced, and the occurrence of blurring of the support plate 500 during the rotation of the rotating shaft 100 can be reliably prevented.

  As described above, according to the shaft type torque converter of the present invention, torque acting on the rotating shaft that rotates at high speed can be reliably transmitted without interruption as an optical signal from the rotating side to the fixed side, The torque detected by the torque detector can always be accurately measured continuously.

  Note that the shapes, dimensions, materials, and the like of the constituent elements described in the above-described embodiments are merely examples. Therefore, it goes without saying that the shape, size, material, and the like thereof can be appropriately changed within a range in which the effects of the present invention can be exhibited.

1, 2, 3 shaft type torque converter 100 rotating shaft 200 shaft support portion 210 bearing 300 torque detecting portion 310 torque detecting element 330 light emitting element (light emitting portion)
340, 341 Light guide plate (light guide part)
350 Light receiving element (light receiving part)
400 Housing 500 (500a) Support plate

Claims (6)

In a shaft type torque converter that converts torque acting on the rotating shaft into an output signal,
A rotation shaft on which torque acts, a shaft support portion that rotatably supports the rotation shaft, and a torque detection portion that detects a torque acting on the rotation shaft and transmits a detection signal,
The torque detection unit includes a torque detection element that detects the torque of the rotating shaft, a light emitting unit that emits light using a torque value obtained from the torque detection element as an optical signal, and guides the optical signal from the light emission unit. A shaft type torque converter comprising: a light guide section that performs light reception; and a light receiving section that receives the optical signal emitted from the light guide section.   The shaft type torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is disposed on a rotating side, and the light receiving unit is disposed on a fixed side.   The light guide unit is provided on a support plate attached to the rotating shaft, and the light emitting unit is disposed on the support plate so as to face a light incident surface of the light guide unit. The shaft type torque converter according to claim 1 or 2.   The shaft type torque converter according to claim 3, wherein the light guide part is fixed to a cylindrical fixing member on an outer periphery of the light guide part.   The shaft type torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the light guide unit is provided on the fixed side and is disposed so as to surround a support plate attached to the rotation side. 6. The axial torque conversion according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit includes at least one light emitting element, and the light guide unit includes at least one light guide plate. 7. vessel.

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