JP2022079306A - Actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an actuator that prevents the damage of teeth at locking, can be simply locked at any position and simply correct a position of a driving gear in a return direction after the locking, and can release the locking by motor driving.SOLUTION: An actuator is equipped with a drive shaft, a driving motor, a driving gear 22 that rotates with the drive shaft, a return spring, and a lock mechanism 32 that has a switch lever 31 capable of contacting/separating with/from a lower surface 22a of the driving gear 22. The switch lever 31 has a friction member 41, and is rotatable like as the friction member 41 is pressed to rotate by friction with the driving gear 22. The lock mechanism 32 is equipped with a stopper 33 that regulates rotations of the switch lever 31, and a lock releasing spring 34 that energizes the switch lever 31. By regulating the rotations of the switch lever 31 by the stopper 33, the driving gear 22 is braked by the friction between the driving gear 22 and the friction member 41 to be brought into a lock state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an actuator provided with a return spring that urges a rotary driven component in one direction.

As a device provided with a rotary driven component, for example, there is an electric valve. Generally, an electric valve has an emergency shutoff function that closes the valve when the power is cut off, such as during a power failure. As the emergency shutoff function adopted in the electric valve, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, there are many spring return types that use a return spring that urges the rotary valve shaft in the closing direction.

In the spring return type actuator, the valve is fully closed when the power is off. Therefore, when it is necessary to hold the valve at an arbitrary opening in a non-energized state, the valve can be manually opened and closed, and the valve is stopped and locked against the spring force of the return spring. A possible opening holding mechanism is used. When such an opening holding mechanism is provided, it is necessary not only to manually switch between free and locked, but also to be able to automatically release the lock when the motor drive is restarted.

As the conventional opening degree holding mechanism, for example, there are those described in Patent Documents 2 to 4. The opening degree holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 is for holding a valve (not shown) at a predetermined opening degree, and is configured as shown in FIG. The opening degree holding mechanism 1 shown in Patent Document 2 is configured by using a drive gear 4 included in a transmission mechanism 3 for transmitting the power of a motor 2 and a lock gear 5 that selectively meshes with the drive gear 4. Has been done.

The transmission mechanism 3 includes an upstream gear 3a to which the rotational force is transmitted from the motor 2, a drive gear 4 connected to the upstream gear 3a, and a downstream side to which the rotational force is transmitted from the drive gear 4. It is composed of a group of gears (not shown). The rotation of the gear group on the downstream side is transmitted to the rotation shaft of the driven component (not shown). The transmission mechanism 3 is configured so that a handle 6 for a manual opening / closing operation for manually operating the driven component can be connected. FIG. 6 is drawn with the handle 6 for manual opening / closing operation connected to the drive gear 4.

The gear 3a on the upstream side is urged in one direction by the return spring 7. The drive gear 4 is rotated by the spring force of the return spring 7 in the direction indicated by the arrow R in FIG. In the following, the direction of rotation due to the action of the spring force of the return spring 7 is simply referred to as the "return direction".
The lock gear 5 is a fan-shaped gear that can mesh with the drive gear 4, and is provided on a rotation shaft 8 parallel to the axis of the drive gear 4. The locking gear 5 rotates between the locked position shown in FIG. 6 and the non-locked position shown in FIG. 7 by manually operating the rotating shaft 8. A stopper 9 is provided in the vicinity of the lock gear 5.

The stopper 9 regulates the drive gear 4 to rotate in the return direction while the lock gear 5 is engaged with the drive gear 4.
The rotation shaft 8 is provided with a lock release spring 10 that urges the lock gear 5 in a direction away from the stopper 9.

According to the opening degree holding mechanism 1, the valve is manually opened and closed by operating the manual opening / closing operation handle 6 in a state where the locking gear 5 is not meshed with the driving gear 4 as shown in FIG. Can be done. In order to lock the valve with a predetermined opening, the operation is stopped without releasing the manual opening / closing operation handle 6 while the valve has a predetermined opening, and as shown in FIG. 6, for locking. The gear 5 is rotated against the spring force of the unlocking spring 10 to mesh with the drive gear 4.

By loosening the hand holding the handle 6 for manual opening / closing operation while the lock gear 5 is engaged with the drive gear 4, the drive gear 4 turns in the return direction, and the lock gear 5 is accompanied by the stopper 9 Turn towards. The rotation of the locking gear 5 is restricted by the locking gear 5 coming into contact with the stopper 9. Therefore, the rotation of the drive gear 4 in the return direction is also restricted, and the valve is locked at a predetermined opening degree.

When driving the motor, the drive gear 4 is rotated in the direction opposite to the return direction by the power of the motor 2, and as shown in FIG. 7, the lock gear 5 is disengaged from the drive gear 4 and the lock release spring. It moves to the unlocked position with a spring force of 10. Therefore, the lock is automatically released.

The opening degree holding mechanism described in Patent Document 3 is configured to be held in a fully open or fully closed position by the spring force of a tension coil spring.
The opening degree holding mechanism described in Patent Document 4 is configured to manually engage a toothed part with a gear that rotates together with a driven part and lock it at an arbitrary opening degree.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-206656 Special Table 2007-501917 Japanese Patent No. 3645225 Japanese Patent No. 6709140

The opening degree holding mechanism 1 disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the following three problems.
The first problem is that when the locking gear 5 is engaged with the driving gear 4, the teeth may collide with each other and the teeth may be damaged.
The second problem is that it is troublesome to correct the opening degree to the closed side after locking. That is, if it is desired to return the lock gear 5 to the closed side (return direction) by a manual opening / closing operation after locking, the lock gear 5 must be manually turned in a direction away from the stopper 9 to release the lock.

The third problem is that the operation when engaging the lock gear 5 with the drive gear 4 is troublesome. That is, in order to engage the lock gear 5 with the drive gear 4, the lock gear 5 must be engaged while rotating the drive gear 4 in the return direction by operating the manual opening / closing operation handle 6.

The opening holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a problem that it cannot be held at an arbitrary position between fully open and fully closed.
The opening holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 4 cannot naturally release the lock by driving the motor.

An object of the present invention is that the teeth are not damaged at the time of locking, the locking gear can be easily locked at any position, and the position of the driving gear can be easily corrected in the return direction after locking, and the motor can be used. It is to provide an actuator that can be unlocked by driving.

In order to achieve this object, the actuator according to the present invention includes a drive shaft for rotating and driving a driven component, a drive motor connected to the drive shaft via a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism. The drive gear that rotates together with the drive shaft, the return spring that urges the rotating body included in the transmission mechanism in the return direction, which is one of the rotation directions, and the end face of the drive gear in the axial direction are brought into contact with each other. It has a switchable lever, and is provided with a lock mechanism for switching between a non-locked state in which rotation of the drive gear is permitted and a locked state in which rotation of the drive gear in the return direction is restricted. The lever has a friction member that comes into contact with the drive gear, and is rotatable so that the friction member is rotated by being pushed by friction with the drive gear, and the lock mechanism is the drive gear. With a stopper that regulates the rotation of the switching lever that is pushed and rotated by the friction when rotating in the return direction, and the switching lever in a direction opposite to the rotation direction when the rotation is restricted by the stopper. The lock release spring is provided, and the rotation of the switching lever is restricted by the stopper, so that the drive gear is braked by the friction between the drive gear and the friction member, and the lock state is established. It is a thing.

In the present invention, in the actuator, the switching lever may be provided on a rotation shaft extending in a direction intersecting the axis of the drive gear.

In the present invention, in the actuator, the contact direction when the friction member contacts the drive gear is a direction from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drive gear that rotates in the return direction to the downstream side in the rotation direction. May be good.

In the present invention, in the actuator, the friction member is configured such that the drive gear rotates against frictional resistance by applying an external force to the drive gear in the return direction in the locked state. May be.

In the present invention, since it can be locked without using the teeth of the drive gear, the teeth of the drive gear are not damaged.
Since it is locked by friction, the force urged by the return spring is maintained, and if necessary, the drive gear is manually turned in the return direction with a force that exceeds the frictional force of the friction member to move in the return direction. Manual operation is possible. That is, the drive gear can be turned in the return direction without releasing the locked state after locking.

The switching lever is not a structure that meshes with the drive gear, but a structure that makes frictional contact. Therefore, it is not necessary to rotate the drive gear a little at the time of locking, and the locking operation can be easily performed.
Since the friction member can be locked at the position where it comes into contact with the drive gear, it can be locked at any position.
When the drive gear is driven by the drive motor and rotates in the direction opposite to the return direction, the switching lever is pushed by the spring force of the unlocking spring and turns in the direction away from the stopper, and the friction member is driven. It automatically returns to the initial position as it moves away from the gear.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the teeth are not damaged at the time of locking, the locking gear can be easily locked at an arbitrary position, and the position of the driving gear can be easily corrected in the return direction after locking. , It is possible to provide an actuator that can be unlocked by driving a motor.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of the actuator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the actuator. FIG. 3 is a side view of the lock mechanism. FIG. 4 is a side view of the lock mechanism. FIG. 5 is a side view of the lock mechanism. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of a conventional opening degree holding mechanism. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the configuration of a conventional opening degree holding mechanism.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the actuator according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
(Explanation of the entire actuator)
The actuator 11 shown in FIG. 1 can be used to drive an electric valve (not shown), a damper provided in an air conditioning duct, or the like. In this embodiment, an example of the case where the actuator 11 according to the present invention is used for an electric valve will be described.

The actuator 11 includes a drive shaft 13 for rotating and driving a valve body 12 as a driven component of an electric valve, a drive motor 15 connected to the drive shaft 13 via a transmission mechanism 14, and the like. Each component constituting the actuator 11 is housed in the case 16.
The drive shaft 13 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown) with a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1 as an axial direction. A rotary valve body 12 is provided at one end of the drive shaft 13. The valve body 12 is fully closed when the drive shaft 13 rotates to one side, and is fully opened when the drive shaft 13 rotates to the other side. In this embodiment, a case where the actuator 11 is attached to the upper end portion of the electric valve and the drive shaft 13 extends in the vertical direction will be described. The valve body 12 is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft 13.

The transmission mechanism 14 decelerates the rotation of the drive motor 15 by using a plurality of gears and transmits the rotation to the drive shaft 13. The transmission mechanism 14 according to this embodiment includes nine gears 18 to 26 between the pinion 17 of the drive motor 15 and the drive shaft 13. Of these gears 18 to 26, a rotating body that rotates when the transmission mechanism 14 operates is rotated in the rotation direction on the rotation shaft 27 of the drive gear 22, which is located fifth from the upstream end of the power transmission path. A return spring 28 urging one side is connected. The rotating body is a gear, a shaft, or the like. In FIGS. 1 and 2, only the appearance of the housing accommodating the return spring 28 is shown.

The direction in which the return spring 28 urges the rotating body is such that the valve body 12 connected so as to interlock with the rotating body rotates in the closing direction. In the following, the direction in which the rotating body is rotated by the spring force of the return spring 28 is referred to as a “return direction”. Therefore, in the actuator 11, the valve body 12 moves to the fully closed position by the spring force of the return spring 28 when the energization of the drive motor 15 is cut off. The plurality of gears 18 to 26 constituting the transmission mechanism 14 rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 (return direction) by the spring force of the return spring 28.

One end (upper end) of the rotating shaft 27 to which the return spring 28 is connected is formed so that the handle 29 for manual opening / closing operation (see FIG. 2) can be detachably attached to the outside of the case 16. It is exposed. The handle 29 for manual opening / closing operation is a handle that is operated when the valve body 12 is manually turned in the opening direction or the closing direction.

(Explanation of drive gear)
The drive gear 22 is a gear included in the transmission mechanism 14 that rotates together with the drive shaft 13. The drive gear 22 rotates a plurality of times when the valve body 12 rotates from a fully closed position at one end of the operable range to a fully open position at the other end.
The end faces (upper surface and lower surface) of the drive gear 22 in the axial direction are formed flat. The actuator 11 according to this embodiment includes a lock mechanism 32 that regulates the rotation of the drive gear 22 by using a switching lever 31 that can be brought into contact with and detached from the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22.

(Explanation of lock mechanism)
The lock mechanism 32 switches between an unlocked state in which the rotation of the drive gear 22 is allowed and a locked state in which the rotation of the drive gear 22 is restricted by using the switching lever 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the lock mechanism 32 has a switching lever 31 located below the drive gear 22, a stopper 33, and a lock release spring 34.

The switching lever 31 according to this embodiment is provided on a rotating shaft 35 extending in a direction orthogonal to the axis C of the driving gear 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the tip end portion of the rotation shaft 35 opposite to the switching lever 31 is formed so as to project from the side portion 16a of the case 16 to the outside of the case. An operator 36 (see FIG. 1) for operating the switching lever 31 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 35. The rotation shaft 35 is rotatably supported by a bracket (not shown) on the lower frame 37 (see FIG. 3) of the actuator 11.

(Explanation of switching lever)
A friction member 41 is provided at the tip of the switching lever 31 separated from the rotating shaft 35. The friction member 41 is made of a rubber material.
The switching lever 31 is arranged at a position where the friction member 41 comes into contact with the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 from below by rotating integrally with the rotation shaft 35. That is, the switching lever 31 has a lock position where the friction member 41 contacts the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 as shown in FIG. 3, and the friction member 41 is downward from the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 as shown in FIG. Can rotate to and from a non-locking position separated from.

The axial direction of the rotating shaft 35 is the direction in which the driving gear 22 rotates due to friction when the friction member 41 comes into contact with the lower surface 22a of the rotating drive gear 22. That is, the switching lever 31 is rotatable so that the friction member 41 is rotated by being pushed by the friction with the drive gear 22. The axis direction of the rotation shaft 35 according to this embodiment is a direction orthogonal to the axis C of the drive gear 22.
The contact direction when the friction member 41 contacts the drive gear 22 in the process of moving the switching lever 31 from the unlocked position to the locked position is from the upstream side in the rotational direction to the downstream side in the rotational direction of the drive gear 22 that rotates in the return direction. (Direction from right to left in FIG. 3).

(Explanation of stopper)
The stopper 33 is positioned so as to block the movement path when the switching lever 31 moves in a predetermined direction, and is fixed to the lower frame 37. The predetermined direction here is a direction in which the switching lever 31 is pushed and rotated by the frictional force acting on the friction member 41 due to contact with the drive gear 22 rotating in the return direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3). .. That is, the stopper 33 regulates the rotation of the switching lever 31 that is pushed and rotated by the frictional force when the drive gear 22 rotates in the return direction. By restricting the rotation of the switching lever 31 by the stopper 33, the lock mechanism 32 is locked.

(Explanation of unlocking spring)
The unlocking spring 34 is a spring that urges the switching lever 31 in the direction opposite to the rotation direction (clockwise in FIG. 3) when the rotation is restricted by the stopper 33. The spring force of the unlocking spring 34 is smaller than the spring force of the return spring. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the unlocking spring 34 according to this embodiment is composed of a torsion coil spring, and is provided between the switching lever 31 and the lower frame 37 with the rotating shaft 35 penetrating. Has been done. However, the lock release spring 34 may be any as long as it can urge the switching lever 31 in the direction away from the stopper 33. The unlocking spring 34 can be configured by a tension coil spring as well as a torsion coil spring.

(Explanation of actuator operation)
In the actuator 11 configured in this way, the valve body 12 is fully closed by the spring force of the return spring 28 when the power supply of the drive motor 15 is cut off while the switching lever 31 is in the non-locked position shown in the figure. Move to position. After that, in order to lock the valve body 12 at a predetermined opening degree, the rotary shaft 27 is rotated in the direction opposite to the return direction against the spring force of the return spring 28 by using the handle 29 for manual opening / closing operation. The valve body 12 is moved in the valve opening direction.

Then, after the valve body 12 reaches a predetermined opening degree, as shown in FIG. 3, the switching lever 31 is turned so that the friction member 41 comes into contact with the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22, and the handle 29 for manual opening / closing operation is turned. Loosen the applied force and turn the drive gear 22 in the return direction by the spring force of the return spring 28. When the drive gear 22 rotates in the return direction, the switching lever 31 is pushed toward the stopper 33 by the frictional force acting on the friction member 41. As shown in FIG. 4, the switching lever 31 pushed in this way rotates against the spring force of the unlocking spring 34 until the rotation is restricted by the stopper 33.

By restricting the rotation of the switching lever 31 by the stopper 33, the friction member 41 brakes the rotation of the drive gear 22, and the drive gear 22 stops. The drive gear 22 is held at the stopped position by the spring force of the return spring 28. That is, the valve body 12 is held at a position having a predetermined opening degree.

When the drive gear 22 is manually turned in the return direction with a force exceeding the frictional force of the friction member 41 while the lock mechanism 32 is in the locked state, the friction member 41 slips and the drive gear 22 slips in the return direction. Turn to. Therefore, even in the locked state, the position of the valve body 12 can be shifted to the closed side to adjust the opening degree.

When the drive gear 22 is driven in the direction opposite to the return direction by the power of the drive motor 15 while the lock mechanism 32 is in the locked state, the friction member 41 is in the same direction as the drive gear 22 together with the switching lever 31. The frictional force is lost by moving to. As a result, the switching lever 31 is pushed away from the stopper 33 by the spring force of the unlocking spring 34, and as shown in FIG. 5, it automatically returns to the initial non-locking position and the lock is automatically released. To.

(Explanation of the effect by the embodiment)
In the actuator 11 according to this embodiment, since the actuator 11 can be locked without using the teeth of the drive gear 22, the teeth of the drive gear 22 are not damaged.
Since the drive gear 22 is locked by friction, the drive gear is manually driven in the return direction with a force exceeding the frictional force of the friction member 41 while maintaining the force urged by the return spring 28. By turning 22, manual operation in the return direction is possible. That is, the drive gear 22 can be turned in the return direction without releasing the locked state after locking.

The switching lever 31 does not have a structure that meshes with the drive gear 22, but has a structure that makes frictional contact. Therefore, it is not necessary to rotate the drive gear 22 a little at the time of locking, and the locking operation can be easily performed.
Since the friction member 41 can be locked at a position in contact with the drive gear 22, it can be locked at any position.

In the locked state, the drive gear 22 is driven by the drive motor 15 and rotates in the direction opposite to the return direction, so that the switching lever 31 is pushed by the spring force of the unlock spring 34 and is separated from the stopper 33. The friction member 41 is separated from the drive gear 22 and automatically returns to the initial position.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, the teeth are not damaged at the time of locking, the teeth can be easily locked at any position, and the position of the drive gear can be easily corrected in the return direction after locking. Moreover, it is possible to provide an actuator that can be unlocked by driving a motor.

In particular, in this embodiment, since the flat lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 and the switching lever 31 having a simple shape having the friction member 41 are used to stop the rotation of the drive gear 22, the teeth It can be realized at a lower cost than the case where the teeth are engaged and the rotation is stopped.

Further, since the switching lever 31 is arranged below or above the drive gear 22, the empty space below or above the drive gear 22 can be effectively utilized, and the lock mechanism 32 can be realized in a small space. More specifically, in the opening holding mechanism described in Patent Document 2, a space for arranging the locking gear must be separately secured on the side of the gear train, but in this embodiment, the gear train (transmission) is required. Since the empty space in the vertical direction of the mechanism 14) can be effectively utilized, the space utilization rate can be increased and space saving can be realized.

The switching lever 31 according to this embodiment is provided on a rotation shaft 35 extending in a direction intersecting (orthogonal) with the axis of the drive gear 22. Therefore, since the operator 36 for operating the switching lever 31 can be provided on the side portion 16a of the case 16, the operability is improved as compared with the case where the operator 36 is provided on the upper surface or the lower surface of the case 16. high. The actuator 11 may be inverted in the vertical direction and attached to a valve or the like. When the operator 36 is provided on the upper surface of the case 16, if the case 16 is assembled to a valve or the like in an upside down state, the operator 36 is located at the lower side, which makes it difficult to operate. By adopting a configuration in which the rotating shaft 35 penetrates the case 16 in the vertical direction, there are no restrictions in the vertical direction regarding assembly to the valve or the like. However, if such a configuration is adopted, the structure becomes complicated.

In this embodiment, the contact direction when the friction member 41 comes into contact with the drive gear 22 is a direction from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drive gear 22 rotating in the return direction to the downstream side in the rotation direction. Therefore, when the friction member 41 comes into contact with the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22, it is pushed by the frictional force and functions to further rotate the switching lever 31, so that the friction member 41 has the drive gear 22 and the switching lever 31. It will be smoothly sandwiched between.

The friction member 41 according to this embodiment is configured so that the drive gear 22 rotates against the frictional resistance when an external force is applied to the drive gear 22 in the return direction in the locked state. Therefore, since the friction member 41 can be formed of an inexpensive friction material made of a rubber material, the price of the actuator 11 can be kept low.

11 ... Actuator, 12 ... Valve body (driven component), 13 ... Drive shaft, 14 ... Transmission mechanism, 15 ... Drive motor, 22 ... Drive gear, 27 ... Rotating shaft, 28 ... Return spring, 31 ... Switching lever , 32 ... Lock mechanism, 33 ... Stopper, 34 ... Unlocking spring, 35 ... Rotating shaft, 41 ... Friction member.

Claims (4)

A drive shaft that rotates and drives the driven component,
A drive motor connected to the drive shaft via a transmission mechanism,
A drive gear included in the transmission mechanism and rotating together with the drive shaft,
A return spring that urges the rotating body included in the transmission mechanism in the return direction, which is one of the rotation directions,
A lock having a switching lever that can be brought into contact with and detached from the axial end face of the drive gear, and a non-locked state in which rotation of the drive gear is permitted and a lock in which rotation of the drive gear in the return direction is restricted. Equipped with a lock mechanism to switch between states
The switching lever has a friction member that comes into contact with the drive gear, and is rotatable so that the friction member is rotated by being pushed by friction with the drive gear.
The lock mechanism is
A stopper that regulates the rotation of the switching lever that is pushed and rotated by the friction when the drive gear rotates in the return direction.
A lock release spring for urging the switching lever in a direction opposite to the rotation direction when rotation is restricted by the stopper is provided.
An actuator characterized in that the rotation of the switching lever is restricted by the stopper, and the drive gear is braked by the friction between the drive gear and the friction member to be in the locked state. In the actuator according to claim 1,
The switching lever is an actuator provided on a rotating shaft extending in a direction intersecting the axis of the driving gear. In the actuator according to claim 1 or 2.
An actuator characterized in that the contact direction when the friction member comes into contact with the drive gear is a direction from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the drive gear that rotates in the return direction to the downstream side in the rotation direction. In the actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The friction member is an actuator characterized in that the drive gear is configured to rotate against frictional resistance when an external force is applied to the drive gear in the return direction in the locked state. ..

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