JP3519313B2 - Motion assist device and motion assist device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to an opening / closing member that opens or shuts off an internal space of a housing such as a swivel door or a front surface of a drawer installed in a refrigerator or the like. Then, it relates to a motion assisting device for assisting the motion of the opening / closing member and a motion assisting device for a refrigerator used in a refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some home electric appliances, furniture, etc., having a swingable door or drawer, or the like, hold the front surface of the door or drawer on the main body of the housing by using a magnetic action such as a magnet. Since such a door or drawer (hereinafter referred to as an opening / closing member) is attracted to the housing body side by the magnetic attraction force of the magnet just before closing, it can be securely closed with a small force, and in the closed state. The closed state is maintained with a constant closing force. Therefore, it can be applied to many products because it can solve the inconvenience that the door and drawer open naturally even if there is some vibration.

The opening / closing member closed by such a constant closing force can be normally opened without much trouble, but, for example, holding an object in both hands and opening the opening / closing member with a slight force. In such a case, it may not be easy to open. Moreover, it cannot be said that the operability is good for an elderly person whose strength and grip strength are poor.

This type of opening / closing member needs to satisfy both the element for surely maintaining the closed state and the element for easy opening operation, but from the viewpoint of surely maintaining the closed state, There is an undeniable need to have some closing force. Therefore, it is desired to provide an opening / closing mechanism that can be easily opened while having a certain closing force or more.

Therefore, as a device for facilitating the operation as much as possible, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-17548.
The motor actuator described in Japanese Patent Publication No.
0). This motor actuator is
And a deceleration mechanism 5 that decelerates and transmits the driving force of the motor 51.
2, a rod 55 having a rack 54 that meshes with the pinion 53 at the final stage of the speed reduction mechanism 52, position detection means 56 for detecting the position of the rod 55, and a case 57 for accommodating these members. Have

In this motor actuator, when a user touches a switch mechanism provided on a door (not shown), the motor 51 is energized and the rod 55 is slid forward by the driving force of the motor 51. By utilizing the sliding movement of the rod 55 to the front, the opening operation of the door arranged in the front is assisted.

[0007]

However, in such a motor actuator, when the rod remains left in front of the door after assisting the opening operation of the door, the door is closed when the user closes the door. It is pushed by and the rod returns to the case. Therefore, there is a risk that the reduction gear train will be forced to rotate due to the sliding movement of the rod in the returning direction, and each gear of the reduction gear train will be damaged.

Therefore, in such a device, it is conceivable that the reduction gear train is provided with a slip mechanism or a clutch mechanism for transmitting the driving force only in one direction (the direction in which the rod is advanced). If these are incorporated, even if the rod remaining in the front is pushed back into the case, the slip mechanism incorporated will cause the gears, etc. to spin idle, so that the force pushed in will escape and the reduction gear train or motor It will not damage the internal mechanism such as.

However, even if the slip mechanism and the clutch mechanism are provided to deal with the problem of gear damage when the rod is slid in the return direction, the door and the rod collide each time the door is closed, and The risk of damaging the inside of the door is unavoidable.

In the above-mentioned motor actuator, in order to deal with such a problem, the motor is reversely rotated and the rod is returned to its original position. That is, when the rod 55 slides forward to a predetermined position, the position detecting means 56 detects this. Then, based on this detection, the motor 51 is stopped by drive control of a control circuit (not shown). After that, by rotating the motor 51 in the reverse direction, the rod 55 is slid in the reverse direction,
The rod 55 returns to its original position.

However, in order to perform such control, the above-mentioned motor actuator operates both the position detecting means 56 for detecting the position of the rod 55 and the motor 51 based on the result of the position detection by the position detecting means 56. A drive circuit (not shown) for rotating in the direction is provided. Therefore, the number of parts increases, the structure becomes complicated, and the entire apparatus becomes large. These problems do not become a big problem when incorporated in a high-grade product or a large-sized device, but become a big defect when incorporated in a low-priced product or a small product.

Further, the above-mentioned motor actuator must be used when the rod 55 is returned to the original position.
A driving force of 1 is required. Therefore, if a power failure occurs when the rod 55 has jumped out, or if a circuit damage occurs in that state, the rod 55 will be pushed back into the case 57 by a manual method or the like. Since the transmitted force has a speed-up relationship, the load on the motor 51 becomes extremely large and cannot be easily pushed back. If it is pushed back forcibly, the gears in the gear train will be damaged as described above. If a slip mechanism or a clutch mechanism is provided to avoid this, the number of parts is increased, the structure is complicated, and the size of the device is increased.

The present invention does not include a complicated drive circuit for bidirectionally rotating a motor and a means for detecting the position of the protruding member, and the protruding member can be manually operated even when a power failure or a circuit failure occurs. An object of the present invention is to provide a motion assisting device capable of protecting the door, the protruding member, and the internal mechanism of the device by easily returning the device to the origin position, and a refrigerator using the device.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the motion assisting device of the present invention has a protrusion member that slides by the driving force of a motor and can directly or indirectly abut the opening / closing member. An operation assisting device for assisting the operation of the opening / closing member by the sliding operation of the ejecting member, the releasing means for releasing the connection between the ejecting member and the motor after the ejecting member slides to a predetermined position. e Bei the ejection member returning means for returning the projecting member is released to a position before the sliding movement (origin position) by releasing means, protrudes the driving force of the motor
While rotating as a part of the gear train that transmits to the member,
Engages with the linear rack teeth formed on the protruding member
Engagement between the section (called the first section) and the rack teeth is outside
And a disengagement gear having a section (referred to as a second section)
It is provided as a releasing means, and the engagement between the rack tooth portion and the engagement / disengagement gear is
Disengagement, the protruding member acts as a means for returning the protruding member
After returning to the origin position with, engage the protruding member in this state.
The positional relationship with the gear to be removed
Rotate the engagement / disengagement gear further to return to the desired positional relationship.
It has a gear position return means to stop at the position
is there.

With the above-described structure, the motion assisting device of the present invention causes the ejecting member to slide forward by the driving force of the motor, then releases the connection between the ejecting member and the motor, and removes the ejecting member. It will be returned to the original position. Therefore, without reversing the motor,
Since the ejecting member is returned to the original position by the returning means, a complicated member such as a control circuit for reversing the motor can be dispensed with.

According to another aspect of the invention, in addition to the above movement assisting device, the ejecting member returning means stores elastic energy as the ejecting member slides, and exhibits elastic energy by the releasing operation of the releasing means. It is composed of a coil spring that returns the protruding member to the original position.

[0017]

[0018]

According to another aspect of the invention, in addition to the operation assisting device described above, the stop position of the engagement / disengagement gear is set to a measurement reference time at a time point of a predetermined current value by utilizing a change in the current value of the motor. The position is in a disengaged state after a predetermined time including 0 from the reference time.

Further, in the operation assisting device for a refrigerator of the present invention, the opening / closing member is a door or a drawer that is attracted and held in the refrigerator body by using a magnetic action, and the protruding member of the operation assisting device described above functions as the opening / closing member. It is attached so that the engagement / disengagement gear and the protruding member are disengaged after the engagement / disengagement gear is moved to a range where it does not operate due to magnetic action.

According to this structure, the refrigerator equipped with the present device can open the door and the drawer with a small force, and can reliably confine the cool air in the refrigerator in the closed state. Moreover, the protruding member that protrudes when the door is opened can be returned to the original position without providing a complicated circuit or structure, which enables cost reduction and reduces the size of the refrigerator to a narrow part. Can also be easily installed.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a motion assisting device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. In the present embodiment, the operation assisting device will be described as being attached to the refrigerator, but the present invention is particularly
It is not limited to the one installed in the refrigerator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation assisting device 1 for a refrigerator is provided at a position facing a door 4 of a frame 3 of a refrigerator 2 as a housing, and serves as an opening / closing member arranged in the front. It is a device that assists the opening operation of the door 4. The door 4 is for opening / closing the open end portion of the refrigerating compartment 5 formed in the refrigerator 2, and one end thereof is rotatably supported by a part of the open end of the refrigerating compartment 5. ing.

An attracting magnet 6 is provided at the other end of the door 4. The adsorbing magnet 6 serves to adsorb and hold the door 4 at a part of the open end of the refrigerating chamber 5 of the refrigerator 2 when the door 4 is closed, by using a magnetic action, so that the door 4 can hold the door 4. 5 can be completely sealed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the motion assisting device 1 includes a DC motor (hereinafter, simply referred to as a motor) 7, a gear train 8 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 7, and a gear train 8. An ejecting member 9 that can slide and abut the door 4 by the driving force of the motor 7 input via the coil 7; and a coil spring 10 as an ejecting member returning means that returns the ejecting member 9 after the sliding movement to the original position. It has a case 11 for accommodating these respective parts inside. In addition,
At the final stage of the gear train 8, the ejecting member 9 is slid to a predetermined position and then the ejecting member 9 and the motor 7 are moved.
The engagement / disengagement gear 12 as a releasing means for releasing the connection relationship with
Is provided.

The motion assisting device 1 assists the sliding member 9 in a predetermined range of the entire motion range of the door 4 by sliding the protruding member 9. That is,
The protruding member 9 collides with the inside of the door 4 and further slides to push out the door 4. The door 4 is attracted to the main body of the refrigerator 2 by a magnetic attraction force which is a magnetic action of the attraction magnet 6, but the operation assisting device 1
However, the door 4 does not reach the position where it is attracted by the magnetic attraction.
Push out. In the present embodiment, the door 4 is moved to the range in which the door 4 does not operate due to the magnetic action as described above. However, the present invention is particularly applicable to a door that uses the attractive force of a magnet. The present invention is not limited to the above, but can be applied to those that generate a closing force by a spring or the like, or those that do not have a closing force such as a magnet or a spring.

In this way, by moving the protrusion member 9 by the rotational driving force of the motor 7, the door 4 is moved to the refrigerator 2
Release from the suction hold on the body. The operation assisting device 1 is a device that operates the door 4 only in front of the refrigerator 2. Therefore, the door 4 is attached to the movement assisting device 1
Driven forward by the user, then the user manually
After opening and opening food in and out of the refrigerating room 5, the user manually closes the door 4.

In the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment, at this time, since the protruding member 9 has already been returned to the original position by the coil spring 10, the door closed by the user. 4 and the ejecting member 9 do not collide with each other to damage the ejecting member 9 or generate an impact sound.

Further, in this embodiment, the protruding member 9
Is directly contactable with the door 4, but the protruding member 9 may be indirectly contactable with the door 4 via some member.

Further, in the motion assisting device 1, after the motion of the door 4 is assisted by the protrusion member 9, the protrusion member 9 is used.
And the engagement and disengagement gear 12 of the gear train 8 are disengaged, the connection between the protrusion member 9 and the motor 7 is broken,
The driving force of the motor 7 is configured not to be transmitted to the protruding member 9 side. That is, the engagement / disengagement gear 1 provided at the final stage of the gear train 8 and rotating as a part of the gear train 8
Reference numeral 2 denotes a section (hereinafter, referred to as a first section = see FIG. 4) 12a that engages with the protrusion member 9 and a section in which the protrusion member 9 is disengaged (hereinafter, referred to as a second section = see FIG. 4).
12b and serves as a releasing means for releasing the connection between the protruding member 9 and the motor 7.

Therefore, after the ejecting member 9 is ejected forward by the rotation of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 of the gear train 8 to assist the operation of the door 4, the engagement of the ejection member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is prevented. Come off. In addition, as described above, the protruding member 9 is not engaged with the engagement / disengagement gear 12 and then the coil spring 1 is released.
The elastic energy of 0 returns to the original position (origin position).

Since the motion assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment has such a structure, the gear train 8 is not particularly provided with a clutch mechanism, a slip mechanism, or the like. After the operation assistance is performed, the user opens the door 4
Even if the door is closed, the door 4 does not collide with the protruding member 9, and therefore there is no problem that the sliding motion of the protruding member 9 in the opposite direction damages each gear of the gear train 8. It should be noted that as a means for returning the protruding member 9 to the original position, for example, the coil spring 10 may not be used, and the magnetic attraction force of a magnet may be used. The configuration of each gear of the gear train 8 will be described later in detail.

The motor 7 is held in a motor holding portion 13 formed in the case 11. The motor holding portion 13 is formed so as to surround the motor 7. The output shaft 14 of the motor 7 extends from the motor holding portion 13 to the case 1
1 is projected into the internal space. The motor 7 is connected to the terminal member 16 by a plurality of lead wires 15. The terminal member 16 is connected to an external control device 17 that also serves as a power supply and control means. Therefore, the motor 7 is connected to the external control device 17 via the lead wire 15 and the terminal member 16, and the control device 1
It is controlled and driven by 7.

Motor holding portion 13 of output shaft 14 of motor 7
A worm 18, which forms a part of the gear train 8, is attached to the part projecting from through a connecting plate 19 so as to be integrally rotatable. Therefore, the driving force of the motor 7 is decelerated and transmitted to the gear train wheel 8 side via the worm 18.

The protruding member 9 engages with the engagement / disengagement gear 12 at the final stage of the gear train 8 and receives the driving force of the motor 7 to be guided by the guide rail 1a formed in the case 11. 2 is slidable in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The protruding member 9 slides in the direction of arrow A, so that the tip portion of the protruding member 9 is the case 1
It is designed to project from 1 to the outside. This case 1
The above-mentioned door 4 is arranged in a portion projecting from 1. That is, the protruding member 9 slides forward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2) by the driving force of the motor 7 to come into contact with the door 4 and open the door 4 (direction of arrow B in FIG. 2). It is something that sticks out.

The tip portion of the protruding member 9 is arranged so as to be substantially flush with the case 11 with the protruding member 9 retracted to the innermost portion. Regarding the disposition of the protruding member 9, there are various relationships such as a positional relationship between the protruding member 9 and the door 4 and a relationship of time control from the start of the motor 7 until the protruding member 9 is brought into contact with the door 4. It can be changed.

In addition, the motion assisting device 1 includes the protruding member 9
The case 11 is provided with a coil spring 10 as a protruding member returning means for returning the protruding member 9 to the position before sliding movement (origin position) when the engagement and disengagement gear 12 is disengaged. The coil spring 10 is arranged at a position sandwiched between the case 11 and the protruding member 9, and has one end locked to the protruding portion 1b protruding from the inner wall 11a of the case 11 facing the door 4 and the other. The end is brought into contact with a metal plate 20 serving as a yoke for a magnet 1c, which will be described later, fitted to the protruding member 9.

When the protruding member 9 is slid in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, the coil spring 10 is pushed by the plate 20 and contracts in accordance with this sliding operation. As a result, the coil spring 10 stores elastic energy for returning the protruding member 9 to the original position.

In this state, the protruding member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 are provided.
When the connection between the motor 7 and the ejection member 9 is released, the coil spring 10 exerts the above-described elastic energy to return the ejection member 9 to the original position. The protruding member 9 returned to the original position is held at the original position in the case 11 by the metal plate 20 being attracted to the magnet 1c arranged in the case 11. Note that the relationship between the plate 20 and the magnet 1c is reversed, that is, the protruding member 9 is provided with a magnet, and the case 11 is provided with a metal plate so that the protruding member 9 is held at the original position. Or both magnets may be used.

Further, the coil spring 10 may be configured to store elastic energy in a contracting direction by expanding the coil spring 10 instead of contracting and storing elastic energy by the sliding movement of the protruding member 9 to the front.

The gear train 8 has a worm 18 rotatable integrally with the output shaft 14 of the motor 7, a first gear portion 21 meshing with the worm 18, and a second gear portion 21 meshing with the first gear portion 21. The gear portion 22, the third gear portion 23 that meshes with the second gear portion 22, and the rack tooth portion 31 of the thrust member 9 that meshes with the third gear portion 23 and is disengageable with the thrust member 9 and the motor 7. It is composed of an engagement / disengagement gear 12 as a releasing means for releasing the connection relationship with.

The worm 18 is connected to the motor 7 as described above.
The output shaft 14 is fixed, and the tip portion is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 25 formed inside the side wall of the case 11. By thus providing the bearing portion 25 for supporting the worm 18 inside the case 11,
The case 11 is reinforced.

The first gear portion 21 is rotatably supported by a metal shaft 26 whose both ends are supported by the case 11.
A large-diameter receiving gear 21a that meshes with the worm 18, and a second
It is composed of a small-diameter feed gear 21b that meshes with a receiving gear 22a of the gear portion 22. The receiving gear 21a and the feed gear 21b are integrally formed.

The second gear portion 22 is rotatably supported by a metal shaft 27 whose both ends are supported by the case 11.
It is composed of a large-diameter receiving gear 22a that meshes with the feed gear 21b of the first gear portion 21 and a small-diameter feeding gear 22b that meshes with the receiving gear 23a of the third gear portion 23. The receiving gear 22a and the sending gear 22b are integrally formed.

The third gear portion 23 is rotatably supported by a metal shaft 28 whose both ends are supported by the case 11.
The second gear unit 22 includes a large-diameter receiving gear 23a that meshes with the feed gear 22b and a small-diameter feed gear 23b that meshes with the engagement / disengagement gear 12. The receiving gear 23a and the sending gear 23b are integrally formed.

The engagement / disengagement gear 12 as a releasing means for releasing the connection between the ejecting member 9 and the motor 7 is a gear train 8.
The final stage gear is rotatably supported by a metal shaft 29 whose both ends are supported by the case 11. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 has a first section extending over 112 degrees that is engageable with both the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9 and the feed gear 23b of the third gear portion 23. 1
2a and a second section 12b that can be engaged only with the feed gear 23b of the third gear portion 23 and that has a remaining 248 degrees.

The first section 12a has a full tooth shape in which the axial thickness of the teeth is about twice as thick as that of the second section 12b. It can be engaged with both the feed gear 23b of the third gear portion 23 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The first section 12a is engaged with the feed gear 23b of the third gear portion 23 by utilizing the entire surface in the axial direction. That is, the feed gear 23b
Is a tooth portion that can engage with the entire axial surface of the first section 12a of the engagement / disengagement gear 12. This first section 12a is
As shown in FIG. 3, the protruding member 9 is engaged with the rack tooth portion 31 by utilizing only the lower half surface. That is, the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9 is a tooth portion that can be engaged only with the lower half surface in the axial direction of the first section 12 a that is the entire tooth portion of the engagement / disengagement gear 12.

The engagement / disengagement gear 12 rotates in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 2, and the teeth of the first section 12a of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 arranged in an arc are linearly arranged in a rack tooth portion. The teeth of the rack teeth 31
Is gradually slid forward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2). At this time, the number of teeth that are simultaneously engaged is the number required for this sliding movement, for example, three.

On the other hand, the teeth of the second section 12b are
Compared with the teeth of the first section 12a, the thickness of the teeth in the axial direction is 1 /
It is formed to be as thin as about two, and as described above, it does not engage with the rack tooth portion 31 but can engage only with the feed gear 23b of the third gear portion 23. That is,
The second section 12b of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 has a shape in which a lower half is cut out in FIG. 3, and the cut out portion faces the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9. . Therefore, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is rotated by the driving force of the motor 7 and disengages from the rack tooth portion 31 when the second section 12b moves to a position facing the rack tooth portion 31. .

Incidentally, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 configured as described above.
Even after the rack tooth portion 31 is fed forward in the first section 12a and disengaged from the rack tooth section 31 by the second section 12b facing each other, the engagement / disengagement gear returning means described later , Is rotated to a predetermined position (origin position). That is, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is rotated to a position before the first tooth of the first section 12a engages with the first tooth of the rack tooth portion 31. Therefore, the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment can reliably and smoothly start the motion at the time of the next motion assist after the door 4 is manually closed.

The first of the engagement / disengagement gears 12 thus configured
As shown in FIG. 4, the section 12a is formed of 112 degrees out of the entire circumference of 360 degrees, and the remaining 248 degrees is the second section 12b. Therefore, while the engagement / disengagement gear 12 engages with the protrusion member 9 and rotates 112 degrees, the protrusion member 9 advances in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and when this section ends and disengages, the coil spring 10 moves. The elastic energy returns to the origin position. On the other hand, the engagement / disengagement gear 12
Is always engaged with the feed gear 23b, and is further rotated by 248 degrees from this state by the drive control of the motor 7 of the control device 17 as the engagement / disengagement gear return means, and returns to the origin position.

The engagement / disengagement gear as the final stage gear of the gear train 8 is not a gear having a toothless shape in the lower half as described above, but a two-stage gear as shown in FIG. You may comprise. That is, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a large-diameter receiving gear 122 that is constantly engaged with a gear 121 that is the preceding stage of the gear train, and a small-diameter feed gear 123 that is integrally formed coaxially with the receiving gear 122. ing. The feed gear 123 is composed of a first section 123a that engages with the rack tooth section 31 of the protrusion member 9 and a second section 123b that disengages from the rack tooth section 31. Then, the engagement / disengagement gear 120 rotates in the direction of the arrow C ′ in FIG. 6, and the teeth of the first section 123a of the engagement / disengagement gear 120 arranged in an arc shape are arranged linearly in the rack tooth portion 31. By sequentially engaging with the teeth, the protruding member 9 is gradually slid forward (in the direction of arrow A ′ in FIG. 6). Further, the engagement / disengagement gear 12
0 rotates, and when the second section 123b comes to a position facing the rack tooth portion 31, the engagement / disengagement gear 120 and the rack tooth portion 31.
Disengages with.

The operation assisting device 1 of the present embodiment having the above-described structure is used to drive the door 4 of the refrigerator 2.
The frame 3 of the refrigerator 2 is detachably fixed with screws. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, this refrigerator 2 has a swivel door 4 on the front surface and a refrigerating chamber 5 for storing foods such as beverage products that need refrigeration storage inside. There is. The door 4 is provided with a pulling handle 35 for the user to hold and pull toward the front when opening the door 4, and it is detected that a part of the pulling handle 35 is grasped by the user. The sensor 32 is provided.

Further, inside the refrigerating compartment 5, there are provided a door switch 33 which is turned on when the door 4 is released from the sealed state, and an interior lamp 34 which is turned on when the door switch 33 is turned on. Therefore, when the door 4 is slightly opened by the motion assisting device 1, the door switch 33 is turned on and the refrigerator compartment 5
The interior light 34 therein is turned on. It should be noted that the driving of the motor 7 of the operation assisting device 1 may be stopped in conjunction with the on / off operation of the door switch 33. In this case, the door switch 33 is turned on after the door 4 is opened to such an extent that the door 4 is not closed by the magnetic action of the attraction magnet 6, and the engagement between the protrusion member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is made. You need to do it after it goes wrong.

The refrigerator 2 has a housing having one door 4 and two drawers 39 and 41.
There may be three or more, or one or three or more drawers. Further, when two or more doors are provided or three or more drawers are installed, the motion assisting devices 1 are arranged in the same number as the number of doors and the number of drawers, and all the doors and The drawers may be driven individually, or the motion assisting device 1 may be arranged to drive only some of the doors or drawers.

The door 4 of the refrigerator 2 constructed as described above
When the user grips the pulling handle 35 and the sensor 32 operates, the motor 7 of the motion assisting device 1 is activated, and the driving force of the motor 7 slightly pushes the motor forward. The sensor 32 is connected to the control device 17, as shown in FIG. This controller 17
A motor 7 is also connected to. Therefore, when a signal is input from the sensor 32, the control device 17 supplies electric power to the motor 7 to drive the motor 7. As a result, the driving force of the motor 7 is transmitted to the ejecting member 9 via the gear train 8, and the ejecting member 9 moves forward to move the door 4
Will be pushed out.

Note that in this embodiment, the user can
Although the sensor 32 is composed of a touch sensor in order to detect that the sensor is about to be opened, other detection means such as a piezoelectric element or infrared detection means may be provided instead of the touch sensor.

The control unit 17 thus detects the sensor 32.
The control for driving the motor 7 to move the ejecting member 9 forward based on the signal from the
Also, control is performed to stop the engagement / disengagement gear 12 at the origin position after the engagement with the rack tooth portion 31 has been disengaged. In this control, after the ejecting member 9 is returned to the original position, the positional relationship between the ejecting member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 in this state is determined by
It is for returning to the positional relationship before the slide. In the present embodiment, this initial positional relationship, that is, the stop position of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is on the verge of the first tooth of the first section 12a meshing with the first tooth of the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9. Is set to.

That is, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 has its rotation angle (the angle at which it stops just before engaging with the rack tooth portion 31) at the origin position, and after the protrusion member 9 assists the operation of the door 4, the control device is operated. Reference numeral 17 controls the engagement / disengagement gear 12 to stop at the origin position. In other words,
The control device 17 is a gear position returning means for returning the engagement / disengagement gear 12 to the original position.

The control method of the control device 17 at this time will be described below with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 9 shows the motor 7
This shows the change over time in the value of the current applied to the motor, and can correspond to the change in the load applied to the motor 7.

According to FIG. 9, the value of the current flowing through the motor 7 is highest at the time of starting (arrow a1 in FIG. 9) and then drops once (arrow a2 in FIG. 9), but remains at a high level. maintain. This is because a large amount of current, a so-called starting current, is required to start driving the motor 7 from the stopped state, and the ejecting member 9 contacts the door 4 immediately after the starting current flows. This is because the load applied to 7 becomes extremely high. And the protruding member 9
Pushes the door 4 forward by the driving force of the motor 7, and when the contact between the door 4 and the protruding member 9 separates, the value of the current flowing through the motor 7 drops sharply (see arrow a in FIG. 9).
3). This is because the load received from the door 4 is eliminated as described above.

In the present embodiment, the rotation of the motor 7 is not stopped even after the operation of the door 4 is assisted (the contact with the door 4 is separated), and the ejecting member 9 is ejected further forward. Let During this period, the value of the current flowing through the motor 7 gradually increases (a4 in FIG. 9). This is because when the ejecting member 9 is driven forward by the motor 7, the elastic energy of the coil spring 10 as the ejecting member returning means described above is gradually stored against the driving force of the motor 7.
This is because the load on the motor 7 is increased, although it is slight.

When the ejection member 9 is driven to the front end, the engagement between the ejection member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is released. Therefore, the driving force of the motor 7 is not transmitted to the protrusion member 9, and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 idles. At this time,
That is, the value of the current flowing through the motor 7 at the moment when the protrusion member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 are disengaged from each other suddenly decreases (see FIG. 9).
In FIG. 9, the current value in the lowered state is maintained while the engagement / disengagement gear 12 idles (arrow a6 in FIG. 9).

In the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment, the drive control of the motor 7 is performed by utilizing such a change in the current value flowing through the motor 7. That is, in the present embodiment, the section indicated by the arrow a4 (the motor 7 is opened by opening the door 4).
The current value n is set to an arbitrary current value n in a section in which the current value abruptly decreases and then gradually increases. The time when the current value n exceeds the current value n is used as the measurement reference time. Then, the control device 17 has a predetermined time s from when the measurement reference time is reached,
By supplying electric power to the motor 7, the engagement / disengagement gear 12
Controls to rotate to the origin position.

The reason for adopting such a control method is as follows. That is, in the motion assisting device 1, when the user touches the pulling handle 35, the sensor 32 operates, whereby the drive of the motor 7 is started under the control of the control device 17. Then, if the motor 7 is driven for a predetermined time, the protrusion member 9 normally operates to the front end, and the door 4 is opened.

However, if the ejecting member 9 is not driven smoothly due to some reason, for example, the state in which the door 4 cannot be opened with the door 4 continued, the entire operation of the ejecting member 9 (origin position There is an unexpected variation in the time required to complete the slide operation from the front end to the front end.

Therefore, in the control in which the motor 7 is stopped after a predetermined time has passed since the motor 7 was started, there is a risk that the protrusion member 9 may not be reliably moved to the front end due to accumulated variations. There is. If the protruding member 9 is not driven to the front end and the motor 7 is stopped in a state where it is stopped at an intermediate position, the operation assistance of the door 4 may not be completely performed. Further, although the operation of the door 4 can be assisted, if the protruding member 9 is still in the state of protruding forward, the state in which the door 4 remains engaged with the engagement / disengagement gear 12 when the door 4 is closed. The protrusion member 9 collides with the protrusion member 9 and is pushed into the case 11. As a result, the gear train 8 inside the case 11 may be damaged.

Further, in the case of control for stopping the motor 7 after a predetermined time from the opening time of the door 4, the opening time of the door 4 varies due to an assembly error or the like. This variation causes the same problem as described above. That is, the protruding member 9 stops in a protruding state, or the time until the operation of the protruding member 9 starts becomes unstable.

Therefore, the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment employs the control method as described above. When the above control method is adopted, the driving time of the motor 7 that is smoothly driven with a small load after the operation of the door 4 is assisted is measured. The engagement / disengagement gear 12 can be stopped.
When the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is surely stopped at the origin position in this way, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 will start rotating from the origin position even when the next operation of the door 4 is assisted. 9 and 9 are engaged in a short time, and the time is constant every time, so that stable operation can be expected at all times. Further, the motor 7 will not stop even when the protruding member 9 is protruding.

The measurement reference time for measuring the drive time of the motor 7 does not have to be the above-mentioned time point. For example, when the assembly error is prevented from occurring, the protrusion member 9 and the door 4 are brought into contact with each other. The contact may be released and the value of the current flowing through the motor 7 may be rapidly reduced (a3 in FIG. 9). Further, at the time of measurement reference, even at the time when the protrusion member 9 is driven to the front end and the engagement between the protrusion member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is disengaged, and the current value flowing to the motor 7 decreases (arrow a5 in FIG. 9). Good. In reality, although there may be variations, when a certain degree of accuracy error is allowed or other error countermeasures are taken, when the starting current is generated (indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9). a1) or at the time of a sudden decrease in current after the generation of the starting current (arrow a2 in FIG. 9).

Further, instead of utilizing the change in the current value in this way, other driving methods such as controlling the driving time of the motor 7 after the door switch 33 is turned on are set as the measurement reference time. It is also possible to set the stop time of the motor 7 according to the control method and stop the engagement / disengagement gear 12 at a predetermined position.

As described above, if the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is always stopped at the origin position which is just before the engagement, the engagement with the ejecting member 9 will start in a short time at the next operation. However, in particular, such control may not be performed, and the motor 7 is driven and disengaged at least until the engagement / disengagement gear 12 starts engaging with the protruding member 9 and disengages. Control for stopping the motor 7 may be performed in the meantime. In that case, the start of the next operation may be slightly delayed, but there is no problem in operation.

In the present embodiment, the motor 7 is stopped by simply stopping the power supply from the control device 17 to the motor 7. However, in addition to this, the motor 7 is stopped immediately after the power supply is stopped. The control for activating the short-circuit brake may be performed such that the drive circuit of 7 is short-circuited to stop the motor 7.

The case 11 is, as shown in FIG.
Replace the two case halves 11c and 11d with the four bolts 11e.
It is configured so as to be fixed by, for example, and has a box shape in which the motor 7, the gear train 8, the protruding member 9 and the like are housed inside. That is, case 11
Has a surface for mounting each member (a bottom surface and a surface to be a lid) and a surface surrounding each member (side wall).

Inside the case 11, there is provided a mechanism for rotatably supporting each gear of the gear train 8, specifically, a fixing portion 11 for supporting both ends of the shaft 26.
f, 11g, fixed portions 11h, 11j that support both ends of the shaft 27, fixed portions 11k, 11m that support both ends of the shaft 28, and fixed portions 11p, 11q that support both ends of the shaft 29, respectively. It is provided.

Next, the operation for assisting the operation of the door 4 of the refrigerator 2 using the operation assisting device 1 of the present embodiment described above will be described below, although it may be a little redundant with the above description. . The door 4 is attracted and held at the open end of the refrigerating chamber 5 by the attraction magnet 6.

When the user tries to open the door 4 of the refrigerator 2 and holds the pulling handle 35, the sensor 32 provided on the pulling handle 35 detects this contact and transmits a signal to the control device 17. Then, electric power is supplied from the control device 17 to the motor 7 of the motion assisting device 1 through the plurality of lead wires 15.

When electric power is supplied to the motor 7, the motor 7
The output shaft 14 and the worm 18 rotate integrally. When the worm 18 rotates, this rotation is transmitted to the engagement / disengagement gear 12 via the first, second, and third gear portions 21, 22, 23, and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG. To do.

The engagement / disengagement gear 12 stops just before the first tooth of the first section 12a engages with the first tooth of the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9 at the origin position (at the time of starting the motor 7). is doing. At the same time, the engagement / disengagement gear 12
Is the first section 12 with the feed gear 23b of the third gear unit 23.
It meshes with a. The engagement / disengagement gear 12 is connected to the motor 7
When it is rotated by 43 degrees and 40 minutes and 15 seconds by the driving force, the meshing of the third gear portion 23 with the feed gear 23b shifts to the second section 12b. That is, the initial rotation of the third gear portion 23 is the same as that of the feed gear 23b to the first section 12 of the engagement / disengagement gear 12.
a and then to the second section 12b.

The rotation of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 is transmitted to the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9. As a result, the protruding member 9 slides in the arrow A direction from the origin position against the holding force of the magnet 1c with respect to the plate 20. During this time, the coil spring 10 whose one end is in contact with the plate 20 of the ejection member 9 contracts, and elastic energy for returning the ejection member 9 to the original position is stored.

The engagement / disengagement gear 12 is 112
When the ejecting member 9 moves to the front end,
The protrusion member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 are disengaged. As a result, the protruding member 9 is returned to the origin position side by the elastic energy of the coil spring 10. When the plate 20 is returned to the vicinity where the magnetic force of the magnet 1c acts by this return, the magnet 1c abuts on the abutting portion 20a of the plate 20 due to the magnetic action of the magnet 1c, and the protruding member 9 is at its position, that is, the origin position. Fixed by.

Even if the ejecting member 9 does not return to the original position and stops at an intermediate position due to the coil spring 10 being caught in the case 11 or the like, the rack tooth portion 31 of the ejecting member 9 is engaged and disengaged with the gear 12. Since it is not engaged with the first section 12a, the protruding member 9 can be easily returned to the original position by closing the door 4 or manually.

Even after the engagement with the protruding member 9 is disengaged, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 continues to rotate in the arrow C direction. The drive control of the motor 7 at this time is performed by the control device 17 by the method described above. Then, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 rotates 360 degrees and is driven to the origin position (the position where the first tooth of the first section 12a is on the verge of engaging with the first tooth of the rack tooth portion 31 of the protruding member 9). Then, the engagement / disengagement gear 12 stops under the control of the control device 17. In addition, the opened door 4 is
After being pushed forward by the motion assisting device 1 as described above, when it is further opened or closed, it is manually performed by the user.

The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, in the above-described embodiment, the movement assisting device 1 is attached to the refrigerator 2, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this, and has another housing, for example, a drawer such as a chest of drawers or a desk. Alternatively, it may be attached to a safe or the like having a swingable door.

Further, the motion assisting device 1 of the above-mentioned embodiment.
Is attached only to a position facing the upper end of the door 4 of the frame 3 of the refrigerator 2, but is also attached to, for example, a partition portion between the refrigerating compartment 5 and a freezing compartment which is a room below the refrigerator compartment 5 to perform vertical movement. You may make it cooperate with the auxiliary device 1.

Furthermore, in the motion assisting device 1 of the above-described embodiment, the ejecting member 9 is protruded forward even after the operation of the door 4 is assisted (after the contact between the ejecting member 9 and the door 4 is released). However, the engagement between the protrusion member 9 and the engagement / disengagement gear 12 may be released at the same timing as the end of the operation assistance.

Further, control may be performed to stop the motor 7 at the timing of ending the operation assistance, and this timing and the timing of turning on the door switch 33 are synchronized with each other to turn on the door switch 33. The motor 7 may be stopped. Further, when a person opens the door 4 quickly, in order to stop the further protrusion of the protrusion member 9, the completion of the operation assistance is detected by the current value of the motor 7 (arrow a3 in FIG. 9), the motor 7 is stopped, and The motor 7 may be rotated in the reverse direction to return the protruding member 9 to the original position.

The disengagement between the ejecting member 9 and the gear train 8 is not the disengagement using the engagement / disengagement gear 12, but the ejecting member 9 slides to move to one side of the case 11, The gear train 8 may be configured to be disengaged from the final stage gear. Further, the first section 12a and the second section 12b of the engagement / disengagement gear 12 may not be provided in each one, but may be alternately provided in plurals such as twos or threes.

[0089]

As described above, according to the motion assisting device of the present invention, the driving force of the motor operates the ejecting member to assist the operation of the opening / closing member, and then the connecting relationship between the ejecting member and the motor is established. At the same time as releasing it, the protruding member is returned to the original position. Therefore, after the operation assistance, the ejecting member returns to the origin position, and when the opening / closing member is manually closed, the opening / closing member collides with the ejecting member to damage the collision part, or the impact noise due to the collision does not occur. It becomes a movement assist device.

Further, even if the ejecting member after the operation assistance is stopped at the protruding position due to a failure of the returning means, the ejecting member and the motor are disconnected, and therefore the ejecting member is ejected in this state. Even if the member is pushed in by the door or manually, the power is not transmitted to the motor side,
It is possible to prevent damage to the power transmission means on the motor side (for example, when the gear train is assembled to connect the motor and the protruding member). With such a configuration, it becomes possible to provide a motion assisting device that does not require complicated members such as a control circuit for rotating the motor in the reverse direction and a slip mechanism.

Further, when the ejecting member returning means is constituted by a coil spring which stores elastic energy with the sliding movement of the ejecting member and exerts elastic energy by the releasing operation of the releasing means to return the ejecting member to the origin position, The protrusion member can be returned to the original position with a simple structure. Further, a simpler structure is provided by providing the engagement / disengagement gear that engages with the linear rack tooth portion formed on the protruding member only in the first section and disengages in the second section, as the releasing means. The protruding member can be released with.

Further, after the ejecting member returns to the original position, a gear returning means for returning the engaging gear to the original position is provided so as to return the positional relationship between the ejecting member and the engaging gear in this state to the original position. At the start of the next operation, the rotation of the engagement / disengagement gear is started from the origin position, and stable operation can be performed every time.

Further, when the gear returning means is configured to use the change in the current value of the motor to drive the motor for a predetermined time to return the engagement / disengagement gear to the original position,
It is not necessary to provide a detection element for detecting the position of the engagement / disengagement gear, which is advantageous in terms of cost and space. Further, even when the protruding member cannot perform a smooth sliding operation for some reason, it is possible to more reliably return the engagement / disengagement gear to the original position by selecting the measurement reference time as a preferable value.

In the operation assisting device for a refrigerator of another invention, a door or drawer that is adsorbed and held on the refrigerator body side by utilizing a magnetic action, and an ejecting member does not exert a magnetic action on the opening / closing member. The engaging and disengaging gears and the protruding member are disengaged from each other after the operation. Therefore, the user can easily open the door with a weak force after the door has been driven by the driving force of the motor to a range that is not magnetically affected. Furthermore, even if the user subsequently closes the door or drawer, the force does not affect the internal mechanism of the motion assisting device, that is, the operation assisting device is highly safe without the risk of destroying the internal mechanism, and the refrigerator It is possible to increase the luxury and usability of.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the appearance of a refrigerator equipped with a motion assisting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal mechanism of the motion assisting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional development view showing a state in which a protruding member returning means and its periphery are removed from the internal mechanism of the motion assisting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view from the same direction as FIG. 2 for explaining the relationship between the third gear portion, the engagement / disengagement gear, and the rack tooth portion of the protruding member based on the first section of the engagement / disengagement gear. Is.

5A and 5B are views showing an engagement / disengagement gear of the motion assisting device shown in FIG. 2, in which FIG. 5A is a partial side view thereof, and FIG. 5B is a view seen from the arrow B direction of FIG. It is the bottom view seen from the arrow V direction of 3 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a modified example in which a part of the internal mechanism of the motion assisting device according to the embodiment of the present invention is modified, and is a view showing the vicinity of the engagement / disengagement gear.

7 is an external perspective view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the front side.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically showing a control circuit of the motion assisting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a temporal change of a current value flowing in a motor of the motion assisting device in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a motor actuator as a conventional motion assisting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 movement assistance device 2 refrigerator 4 doors (opening / closing member) 6 attraction magnet 7 Motor (part of the gear position return means) 8 gear train 9 protruding member 10 Coil spring (projection member returning means) 12 Engagement gear (release means) 12a First section 12b Second section 17 Control device (gear position returning means) 31 rack teeth

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-3-295991 (JP, A) JP-A-4-17549 (JP, A) JP-A-2-146487 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 23/02 306 F25D 25/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A motion assisting device that has a protruding member that slides by a driving force of a motor and can directly or indirectly contact the opening / closing member, and assists the operation of the opening / closing member by the sliding motion of the protruding member. In the device, after the ejecting member slides to a predetermined position, a releasing means for releasing the connection relationship between the ejecting member and the motor, and the ejecting member released by the releasing means before the sliding movement. position e Bei the ejection member returning means for returning to the (home position), the gear for transmitting the driving force of the motor to said ejection member
While rotating as a part of the train wheel,
A section that engages with the formed linear rack tooth section (first section)
Interval), and the section where the rack tooth is disengaged
(Relative to the second section)
As a means, and the engagement between the rack tooth portion and the engagement and disengagement gear is released,
The ejecting member is moved up by the action of the ejecting member returning means.
Note: After returning to the origin position,
The positional relationship between the engagement gear and the disengagement gear is determined by sliding the protruding member.
Rotate the engagement and disengagement gears further to restore the positional relationship before movement.
It has a gear position return device that rotates it and stops it at a predetermined position.
And which, operating assisting device, characterized in that. 2. The ejecting member returning means stores elastic energy as the ejecting member slides, and by the releasing operation of the releasing means, the elastic energy is exerted to return the ejecting member to the original position. The motion assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the motion assisting device is constituted by a coil spring. 3. The stop position of the engagement / disengagement gear is measured at a time point of a predetermined current position by utilizing a change in the current value of the motor, and is after a predetermined time including 0 from the measurement reference time. The operation assisting device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the engagement is disengaged. 4. The opening / closing member is a door or drawer that is adsorbed and held in the refrigerator body by using a magnetic action, and the protrusion member of the motion assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , After moving the opening / closing member to a range in which the opening / closing member is not operated by the magnetic action, the engaging / disengaging gear in the operation assisting device and the protruding member are attached so as to be disengaged from each other. Motion auxiliary device.