JP2021035127A - Linear actuator, connection/disconnection device, and vehicle connection/disconnection device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a linear actuator, a connection/disconnection device, and a vehicle connection/disconnection with low power consumption.SOLUTION: A linear actuator 6 has a stator 7 and a mover 8 that can relatively move to the stator 7. The stator 7 has a coil 12 and a yoke 13 that holds the coil 12. The mover 8 includes a plunger 21, a first protrusion portion 25 and a second protrusion portion 26 including a magnetic material protruding from the plunger 21 toward the stator 7, and a magnet 22 arranged between the first protrusion portion 25 and the second protrusion portion 26 in a moving direction of the mover 8. Three or more coils 12 are arranged in the moving direction of the mover 8, and two or more magnets 22 are arranged in the moving direction of the mover 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a linear actuator, a disconnection device, and a vehicle disconnection device.

Conventionally, an actuator has been used to engage and disengage a clutch member of a vehicle engaging and disengaging device. For example, the linear actuator having a magnet in the mover described in Patent Document 1 is adopted as the actuator.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-259413

In a linear actuator having a magnet in the mover, a thrust for moving the mover is obtained based on the magnetic force of the magnet installed in the mover and the magnetic force generated in the energized coil. In Patent Document 1, the magnetic force of the magnet is increased to improve the thrust. However, since the gap between the yoke that converges the magnetic field generated by the coil and the magnet with low magnetic permeability is relatively large, there is room for improvement in the efficiency of converting the magnetic force into thrust.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a linear actuator, a connection / disconnection device, and a connection / disconnection device for a vehicle, which have high efficiency of converting magnetic force into thrust.

A linear actuator that solves the above problems has a stator and a mover that can move relative to the stator, and the stator has a coil and a yoke that holds the coil and is movable. The child is between the plunger, the first and second protrusions containing the magnetic material protruding from the plunger toward the stator, and the first and second protrusions in the moving direction of the mover. Has a magnet and is placed in.

According to the above configuration, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion are magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the coil or the magnet, and the voids having low magnetic permeability are reduced, so that the conversion efficiency of the magnetic force into the thrust can be improved.

The perspective view which shows an example of the structure of the vehicle connecting and disconnecting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. An exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to the first embodiment. The front view which shows an example of the structure of the vehicle connecting and disconnecting device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4 of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to the first embodiment. The graph which shows an example of the relationship between the thrust applied to a plunger when the coil is de-energized and the displacement of the center of the plunger. A graph showing an example of the relationship between the thrust applied to the plunger when the coil is energized and the displacement of the center of the plunger. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the positional relationship between the plunger, the first rotating body, and the second rotating body at the point d shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the positional relationship between the plunger, the first rotating body, and the second rotating body at the point e shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a control unit and the like of a vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the control unit when the vibration detection sensor of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to the second embodiment detects vibration. The cross-sectional view which shows an example of the structure of the vehicle connecting and disconnecting device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3 of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4 of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the first embodiment. In the figure, the X-axis corresponds to the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft 2 on the horizontal plane, the Y-axis corresponds to the axial direction of the shaft 2, and the Z-axis corresponds to the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft 2 on the vertical plane. Corresponds to.

The vehicle disconnection device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a shaft 2, a first rotating body 3, a second rotating body 4, a dog clutch (clutch member) 5, and a linear actuator 6.

The first rotating body 3 and the second rotating body 4 are rotatably supported by the shaft 2, and sliding in the axial direction is restricted.

The dog clutch 5 is spline-fitted to the shaft 2 and is slidable in the axial direction, although relative rotation to the shaft 2 is restricted. The dog clutch 5 is in a first engaged state in which it engages with the first rotating body 3 by sliding in the axial direction of the shaft 2 by a linear actuator 6, a second engaged state in which it engages with the second rotating body 4, and a first. The transition between the engaged state and the second engaged state is a non-engaged state in which both the first rotating body 3 and the second rotating body 4 are not engaged. The engaged state means a state in which the dog clutch tooth 9 provided on the dog clutch 5 and the rotating body tooth 10 provided on the first rotating body 3 or the second rotating body 4 are engaged with each other, and the dog clutch tooth 9 and the rotating body tooth 10 are engaged with each other. The power of the first rotating body 3 or the second rotating body 4 is transmitted to the dog clutch 5 via the dog clutch 5. The dog clutch 5 is an example of a clutch member. A friction clutch or the like may be used as the clutch member. Only one rotating body (first rotating body 3 and second rotating body 4) may be used.

As shown in FIG. 4, the linear actuator 6 has a stator 7 and a mover 8.

The stator 7 is fixed concentrically with the shaft 2.

The mover 8 is interlocked with the dog clutch 5 and is movable relative to the stator 7.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the stator 7 has a case 11, a coil 12 (12A, 12B, 12C), a bobbin 13 and a yoke 14.

The case 11 forms a part of the outer shell of the stator 7.

The coil 12 is formed by winding an electric transmitter such as a copper wire around the bobbin 13. A magnetic field (magnetic field) is generated by passing electricity through the coil 12. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the stator 7 has three coils 12, and the coil 12A, the coil 12B, and the coil 12C are in this order from the first rotating body 3 side along the Y-axis direction. Be placed. The number of coils 12 does not necessarily have to be three, and may be two or less or four or more. As the number of coils 12 increases, the thrust improves, and the number of points where the plunger 21, which will be described later, is held increases. The smaller the number of coils 12, the smaller the vehicle disconnection device 1.

The yoke 14 holds the coil 12. The yoke 14 forms a part of the outer shell of the stator 7. The yoke 14 contains a magnetic material, converges the magnetic field generated by the coil 12, and is magnetized.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mover 8 has a plunger 21 and two magnets 22 (22A, 22B).

The plunger 21 contains a magnetic material and is magnetized by a magnetic field generated by the coil 12 or the magnet 22. The plunger 21 is connected to the dog clutch 5 and moves integrally with the dog clutch 5.

The plunger 21 has an annular portion 23, two magnet fixing portions 24, a first protruding portion 25, and a second protruding portion 26.

The annular portion 23 is formed in an annular shape along the outer circumference of the dog clutch 5. The annular portion 23 is connected to the dog clutch 5. The annular portion 23 includes a magnetic material, connects the magnet fixing portion 24, the first protruding portion 25, and the second protruding portion 26, and transmits a magnetic force.

The magnet fixing portion 24 is a portion for fixing the magnet 22. The magnet fixing portion 24 extends from the annular portion 23 (outer circumference of the plunger 21) toward the stator 6. The magnet fixing portion 24 contains a magnetic material and is magnetized by a magnetic field generated by the coil 12 or the magnet 22. The number of magnet fixing portions 24 does not necessarily have to be two, and it is preferable that the number of magnet fixing portions 24 is the same as the number of magnets 22.

The first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26 extend from the annular portion 23 (outer circumference of the plunger 21) toward the stator 6. The first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26 include a magnetic material having a magnetic permeability higher than that of air, and are magnetized by a magnetic field generated by the coil 12 or the magnet 22.

The magnet fixing portion 24 is arranged between the first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26. The two magnet fixing portions 24, the first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26 are arranged apart from each other. By integrally forming the annular portion 23, the magnet fixing portion 24, the first protruding portion 25, and the second protruding portion 26, the magnetic permeability of the entire plunger 21 can be improved.

With the above configuration, the first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26 are magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the coil 12 or the magnet 22, and the voids having low magnetic permeability are reduced, so that the conversion efficiency of the magnetic force into thrust can be improved. As a result, the thrust of the linear actuator 6 is improved, and the responsiveness of the dog latch 5 is improved. Further, when it is not necessary to improve the responsiveness of the dog clutch 5, the magnetic force of the coil 12 corresponding to the improved conversion efficiency can be reduced, so that the number of turns of the coil 12 is reduced and the outside as the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 is used. The diameter can be reduced and the mountability on a vehicle can be improved.

The magnet 22 is fixed to the magnet fixing portion 24 and arranged in an annular shape. Of the north and south poles of the magnet 22, one pole is arranged in a region close to the stator 7, and the other pole is arranged in a region close to the plunger 21. The north pole of the magnet 22A (first magnet) in the present embodiment is arranged in a region close to the stator 7, and the north pole of the magnet 22B (second magnet) in the present embodiment is arranged in a region close to the plunger 21. Will be done. The number of magnets 22 does not necessarily have to be two, and may be one or three or more. As the number of magnets 22 increases, the thrust improves, and the number of points where the plunger 21, which will be described later, is held increases. The smaller the number of magnets 22, the smaller the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1. The number of N poles of the magnets 22 arranged in different regions does not necessarily have to be the same, and all the N poles of the magnets 22 may be arranged in one region. The plunger 21 can be moved and held by appropriately selecting the energization method of the coil 12 as described later according to the arrangement of the N poles of the magnet 22.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the thrust applied to the plunger 21 and the displacement of the center of the plunger 21 when the coil 12 is not energized. FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the thrust applied to the plunger 21 and the displacement of the center of the plunger 21 when the coil 12 is energized. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the positional relationship between the plunger 21, the first rotating body 3 and the second rotating body 4 at the point d shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the positional relationship between the plunger 21, the first rotating body 3, and the second rotating body 4 at the point e shown in FIG.

The vertical axis of the graphs shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 indicates the thrust acting on the plunger 21, and when the thrust is positive, the plunger 21 moves in the positive direction of displacement. The horizontal axis represents the displacement of the center of the plunger 21. The positive direction of the displacement corresponds to the direction of the arrow on the Y axis, and when the displacement is b, the center of the plunger 21 is located in front of the coil 12B as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, when the thrust is in the positive position, the plunger 21 moves in the positive direction of the displacement, and the thrust becomes 0 at the intersection of the curve and the horizontal axis and is held. When the thrust is in a negative position, the plunger 21 moves in the negative direction of the displacement, and the thrust becomes 0 at the intersection of the curve and the horizontal axis and is held. In FIG. 6, the plunger 21 can be held at three points a, b, and c.

In FIG. 7, the energization example A shows the relationship between the thrust and the displacement when the current magnetism of the coil 12A flows in the direction coming out of the paper surface and the current magnetism of the coil 12B and the coil 12C flows toward the paper surface. The energization example B shows the relationship between the thrust and the displacement when the current magnetism of the coil 12A flows toward the paper surface and the current magnetism of the coil 12B and the coil 12C flows in the direction of coming out of the paper surface.

When moving the plunger 21 existing at the point a to the point c when the current is not applied, first, a current is passed through the coil 12 according to the example A of energization. Since a positive thrust acts on the plunger 21 existing at the point a, the plunger 21 moves toward the point b. At point b, the thrust becomes 0 and the plunger 21 stops. Next, by switching to the energization example B near the point b, a positive thrust continues to act on the plunger 21, so that the plunger 21 moves toward the point c. When it reaches point c, the thrust becomes 0 and the plunger 21 stops. Here, when the energization is stopped, the plunger 21 is held at the point c according to the thrust in the case of no energization.

When moving the plunger 21 existing at the point a to the point d when not energized, first, a current is passed through the coil 12 according to the energization example B. Since a negative thrust acts on the plunger 21 existing at the point a, the plunger 21 moves toward the point d. As shown in FIG. 8, the plunger 21 comes into contact with the first rotating body 3 at the d point and stops at the d point. Here, when the energization is stopped, a negative thrust acts on the plunger 21 according to the thrust of the non-energization, but the drag force received from the first rotating body 3 balances with the thrust, so that the plunger 21 is held at the d point. By appropriately selecting the energization method, the plunger 21 is moved from the c point to the a point, or after moving from the c point to the e point, it is held at the e point as shown in FIG. Is possible. The position of the first rotating body 3 or the second rotating body 4 does not necessarily have to be the position shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. Any position may be used as long as the drag force is generated from the first rotating body 3 or the second rotating body 4 against the plunger 21 when the power is not applied. The position where the drag force is generated is the position where the thrust in the negative direction acts on the plunger 21 when the first rotating body 3 is de-energized, and on the second rotating body 4 side, the plunger 21 is subjected to the de-energized time. This is the position where the thrust in the positive direction works.

As described above, at least the following effects can be obtained according to the present embodiment.
-The first protruding portion 25 and the second protruding portion 26 are magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the coil 12 or the magnet 22, and the voids having low magnetic permeability are reduced, so that the conversion efficiency of the magnetic force into thrust can be improved. As a result, the thrust of the linear actuator 6 is improved, and the responsiveness of the dog latch 5 is improved. Further, when it is not necessary to improve the responsiveness of the dog clutch 5, the magnetic force of the coil 12 corresponding to the improved conversion efficiency can be reduced, so that the number of turns of the coil 12 is reduced and the outside as the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 is used. The diameter can be reduced and the mountability on a vehicle can be improved.
When the number of coils 12 is 3 or more and the number of magnets 22 is 2 or more, there are 3 or more points where the thrust becomes 0 when the power is off, and the dog clutch 5 is first engaged. It can be held in three states: a state, a second engaged state, and a non-engaged state. Further, when magnets 22 having different arrangements of N poles are alternately arranged, a plurality of magnets 22 having different arrangements of N poles face the yoke 14 at at least three holding points. As a result, a magnetic flux loop is formed mainly through the magnet 22, and the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion that generate thrust are hard to be magnetized, so that the holding force can be improved.
The first rotating body 3 is placed at a position where a negative thrust is generated in the plunger 21 when the main body 3 is not energized, or the second rotating body 4 is placed at a position where a positive thrust is generated in the plunger 21 when the plunger 21 is not energized. By arranging the plunger 21, the plunger 21 can be held in the non-energized state at a point other than the point where the thrust becomes 0 at the time of non-energization.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a control unit 32 and the like of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the control unit 32 when the vibration detection sensor 31 according to the second embodiment detects vibration. Only the configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described with respect to the second embodiment.

The vehicle disconnection device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a vibration detection sensor 31 and a control unit 32.

The vibration detection sensor 31 detects the vibration of the mover 8 and outputs a signal to the control unit 32 in order to determine whether an external force is acting on the mover 8. A stroke sensor or the like may be used as a method for determining whether an external force is acting on the mover 8.

The control unit 32 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 33. The control unit 32 processes the output signal from the vibration detection sensor 31 by the CPU 33, and outputs a signal for energizing the coil 12 to the linear actuator 6. Instead of the CPU 33, another logic operation processor such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a logic circuit, or the like may be used.

The process executed by the control unit 32 when the vibration detection sensor 31 detects the vibration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 32 determines whether or not the mover 8 needs to be moved (switching between the first engaged state, the second engaged state, and the non-engaged state) (step S1). ). When it is determined that it is necessary (step S1: Yes), the control unit 32 energizes the coil 12 so that thrust acts on the mover 8 (step S2). After that, the control unit 32 repeats this process.

When it is determined that the movement of the mover 8 is not necessary (step S1: No), it is determined whether or not the vibration detection sensor 31 has detected vibration of a predetermined value or more (step S3). If it is not detected (step S3: No), the control unit 32 stops energizing the coil (step S4).

When vibration is detected (step S3: Yes), the control unit 32 energizes the coil 12 so that the mover 8 is held at the current position (step S5). For example, when the mover 8 is present at the point b in FIG. 7, energization is performed according to the energization example A so that the thrust toward the point b near the point b is larger than that in the case of no energization. After that, the process returns to step S1 and the process is continued.

As described above, by performing control, the coil 12 can be energized only when an external force exceeding a certain value is detected, and a holding force that can withstand the external force can be generated. Power consumption can be suppressed as compared with the case of energizing.

(Third Embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 according to the third embodiment. Only the configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described with respect to the third embodiment.

The magnet 22 according to this embodiment is composed of a plurality of bar magnets 41. The bar magnet 41 is arranged in an annular shape along the outer circumference of the plunger 21. The plurality of magnets constituting the magnet 22 are not limited to the bar magnet 41, and a plate-shaped magnet or the like may be used.

When the bar magnet 41 is used, the manufacturing cost of the vehicle connecting / disconnecting device 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where one annular magnet is used.

(Separate embodiment)
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1: Vehicle disconnection device 2: Shaft 3: First rotating body 4: Second rotating body 5: Dog clutch (clutch member)
6: Linear actuator 7: Stator 8: Movable 9: Dog clutch tooth 10: Rotating body tooth 11: Case 12: Coil 13: Bobbin 14: York 21: Plunger 22: Magnet 23: Annulus 24: Magnet fixing part 25 : 1st protruding part 26: 2nd protruding part 31: Vibration detection sensor 32: Control unit 33: CPU
41: Bar magnet

Claims (8)

It has a stator and a mover that can move relative to the stator.
The stator has a coil and a yoke that holds the coil.
The mover includes a plunger, a first protrusion and a second protrusion containing a magnetic material protruding from the plunger toward the stator, and the first protrusion and the mover in the moving direction of the mover. A linear actuator having a magnet arranged between it and a second protrusion. In the moving direction of the mover, three or more of the coils are arranged.
Two or more of the magnets are arranged in the moving direction of the mover.
The plurality of magnets include a first magnet in which the north pole is arranged in a region close to the stator and the south pole is arranged in a region close to the plunger, and the south pole is arranged in a region close to the stator. The linear actuator according to claim 2, wherein the N pole has at least a second magnet arranged in a region close to the plunger, and the first magnet and the second magnet are alternately arranged. .. The linear actuator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the coil is energized when an external force acts on the mover while the coil is not energized. A shaft, a rotating body rotatably supported by the shaft, a clutch member whose relative rotation is restricted with respect to the shaft and slidably supported on the shaft, and claims 1 to 1. 3 Having the linear actuator according to any one of the above,
The clutch member is connected to the plunger which is the outer circumference of the shaft and is arranged on the inner circumference of the coil, slides in the axial direction of the shaft by the linear actuator, and engages with the rotating body. A connecting / disconnecting device that changes between an engaged state and a non-engaged state that does not engage with the rotating body. Claim that the rotating body is arranged in a region that regulates the thrust in the direction from the first protrusion acting on the mover by the magnetic force of the magnet while the coil is not energized. 4. The connecting / disconnecting device according to 4. A shaft, a first rotating body and a second rotating body rotatably supported by the shaft, and a clutch whose relative rotation is restricted with respect to the shaft and slidably supported on the shaft. It has a member and the linear actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The clutch member is connected to the plunger which is the outer circumference of the shaft and is arranged on the inner circumference of the coil, slides in the axial direction of the shaft by the linear actuator, and engages with the first rotating body. A vehicle connecting / disconnecting device that changes between an engaged state in which the vehicle engages and an engaged state in which the second rotating body engages with the second rotating body. The first rotating body is located in a region that regulates the thrust in the direction from the second rotating body to the first rotating body that acts on the mover by the magnetic force of the magnet while the coil is not energized. The vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to claim 6, which is arranged. The second rotating body is located in a region that regulates the thrust in the direction from the first rotating body to the second rotating body that acts on the mover by the magnetic force of the magnet while the coil is not energized. The vehicle connecting / disconnecting device according to claim 6 or 7.

Images