JP4936811B2 - Magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft in which a magnetostrictive material is provided on an outer peripheral surface portion of a torque sensor shaft main body and a concave strip portion and a convex strip portion are formed.

  Conventionally, as a torque sensor for detecting torque, a magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft having a magnetostrictive material provided on an outer peripheral surface portion of a torque sensor shaft main body is provided, and a coil is provided on the outer periphery of the portion of the torque sensor shaft provided with the magnetostrictive material. In the arranged configuration, the tensile force or the compressive stress is applied to the magnetostrictive material due to the torque acting on the torque sensor shaft, and the permeability change of the magnetostrictive material due to the inverse magnetostrictive effect thereby changes the permeability. What is detected by a coil is provided.

Therefore, the torque sensor shaft of this type generally has a concave portion and a convex portion formed on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, and nickel and iron, for example, are formed on the surface of the concave portion and the convex portion. It is manufactured by providing a magnetostrictive material made of the above alloy in a film form by plating.
However, a very large compressive stress remains in the magnetostrictive film provided by plating. In the magnetostrictive torque sensor, the magnetostrictive material is used to detect the change in stress of the concave portion surface and the magnetostrictive material film on the surface of the convex portion when torque is applied to the torque sensor shaft as the inductance change of the coil. The stress remaining in the film (compressive stress) is affected, and the inductance change of the coil is not linear. For this reason, detection accuracy is inferior.

  In order to solve this problem, conventionally, after forming a film of magnetostrictive material by plating on the torque sensor shaft formed with the ridges and ridges, an annealing treatment is performed to expose the torque sensor shaft to a high temperature in a furnace. Yes. In this way, the stress remaining in the magnetostrictive material film is removed, and the change in inductance of the coil when torque is applied to the torque sensor shaft becomes linear, so that the detection accuracy can be improved.

  However, in this method, the number of manufacturing steps is increased by the amount of annealing. In addition, it is necessary to set the furnace conditions for each annealing process according to the thickness of the magnetostrictive material film and the diameter of the torque sensor shaft body. Is difficult and requires batch processing, which increases manufacturing costs and increases product costs.

  In addition, the film of the magnetostrictive material is formed together with the formation of the magnetostrictive material alloy on the surface of the concave portion and the convex portion of the torque sensor shaft body by plating, particularly wet electrolytic plating. Due to the difference in current density between the strips, the alloy composition differs and does not become uniform. For this reason, improvement in detection accuracy of the torque sensor is hindered.

On the other hand, a magnetostrictive material is first provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, and then a concave stripe portion and a convex stripe portion are formed by pressing the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material. It is considered to manufacture a torque sensor shaft by a method (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-6-34460

  What was thought as described above is that after the magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, the concave portion and the convex portion are formed by pressing the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material. Since it is formed, a large tensile stress is applied to the magnetostrictive material film by the pressing force when forming the concave and convex portions, and the compressive stress remaining in the magnetostrictive material film is removed. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the torque sensor without requiring an annealing process. Therefore, the production cost can be reduced and the product cost can be reduced.

  In addition, since the magnetostrictive material film by plating is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the torque sensor shaft main body in a cylindrical shape before forming the concave stripes and the convex stripes, the current density is uniform and the alloy composition can be uniform. The improvement of the detection accuracy of the torque sensor is not hindered.

However, in practice, there is a problem that the torque detection accuracy cannot be obtained as high as desired. This is due to the following reason.
The concave portion and the convex portion formed on the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body provided with the magnetostrictive material are the rotational direction of the torque sensor shaft main body relative to the axial direction of the torque sensor shaft main body. It is formed to be inclined and extend in the opposite twist direction). As a result, the tensile stress and the compressive stress due to the torque applied to the torque sensor shaft effectively reach the magnetostrictive material film according to the inclination of the concave and convex portions. Therefore, the magnetic permeability change of the magnetostrictive material film is also large.

  FIG. 9 shows the situation when torque τ is applied to the torque sensor shaft 1, and stress is applied to the magnetostrictive material film 4 on the surface of the concave strip portion 2 and the surface of the convex strip portion 3 in accordance with the torque τ. σ acts. When the magnetostrictive property of the magnetostrictive material film 4 is positive, the stress σ is the concave portion 2 and the convex portion in any of the magnetostrictive material films 4 on the surface of the concave portion 2 and the surface of the convex portion 3. 3 acts as a positive stress + σ due to tension, and at the same time acts as a negative stress −σ due to compression in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the concave portion 2 and the convex portion 3 (anti-longitudinal direction). To do.

  Among these, in the magnetostrictive material film 4 at the top 3a of the ridge 3, the positive stress + σ acting in the longitudinal direction is larger than the negative stress −σ acting in the anti-longitudinal direction, so that the result is positive. Acts as stress + σ. On the other hand, in the magnetostrictive material film 4 at the bottom 2a of the concave portion 2, the negative stress −σ acting in the anti-longitudinal direction is larger than the positive stress + σ acting in the longitudinal direction, and as a result, Acts as negative stress -σ. This is because the bottom 2a of the concave portion 2 has a rising wall of the side portion 2b in the anti-longitudinal direction, and the magnetostrictive film 4 is easily compressed in the anti-longitudinal direction (on the top 3a of the convex portion 3). There is no such thing).

  Thus, the detected torque is based on the sum of all the stresses. Therefore, the positive stress + σ applied to the magnetostrictive film 4 at the top 3a of the ridge 3 is the magnetostrictive material at the bottom 2a of the ridge 2. This is offset by the negative stress −σ acting on the film 4. On the other hand, the negative stress −σ acting on the magnetostrictive film 4 at the bottom 2 a of the concave portion 2 is offset by the positive stress + σ acting on the magnetostrictive film 4 at the top 3 a of the convex portion 3. (The magnetic permeability change of the magnetostrictive film 4 may be detected not only in the positive direction but also in the negative direction). For this reason, the change in the magnetic permeability of the magnetostrictive material film 4 is detected only in a small direction both in the positive direction and in the negative direction, and a high torque detection accuracy cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to produce a torque sensor shaft capable of reliably obtaining high torque detection accuracy, and to easily produce the magnetostrictive torque. It is in providing the manufacturing method of a sensor shaft.

In order to achieve the above object, in the magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft manufacturing method of the present invention, first, a magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, and then the torque sensor By pressing the portion of the shaft body where the magnetostrictive material is provided, the portion of the torque sensor shaft body where the magnetostrictive material is provided has a concave portion where the torque sensor shaft body is concave, and the torque sensor shaft body is relatively A convex ridge portion is formed, and the magnetostrictive material film is cut at the bottom of the concave ridge portion (invention of claim 1).

In the method for manufacturing a magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft of the present invention, secondly, a magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, and thereafter, the magnetostrictive material of the torque sensor shaft main body is provided. By pressing the part, the torque sensor shaft main body is provided with the magnetostrictive material, and the torque sensor shaft main body has a concave ridge and the torque sensor shaft main body has a convex ridge that is relatively convex. In addition, the magnetostrictive film is cut at the top of the ridge (invention of claim 2).

According to the first means (invention of claim 1), after the magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material is pressed. In addition to obtaining the effect of forming the ridges and ridges by cutting the magnetostrictive film at the bottom of the ridges, it is possible to transmit the stress due to the stress acting on the magnetostrictive film at the top of the ridges. The change in magnetic susceptibility can be detected independently (without canceling out the stress of the magnetostrictive material film at the bottom of the concave portion), and thus the torque detection accuracy can be reliably increased.
In this case, the magnetostrictive material film can be cut at the bottom of the concave stripe portion by a pressing step of forming the concave stripe portion and the convex stripe portion on the portion of the torque sensor shaft body where the magnetostrictive material is provided. It can be manufactured easily without requiring a process.

According to the second means (invention of claim 2), the magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, and the concave portion is formed by pressing the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material. The effect of what forms the ridges and ridges is obtained, and the permeability change due to the stress acting on the magnetostrictive film at the bottom of the recesses by cutting the magnetostrictive film at the top of the ridges Can be detected independently (without canceling out the stress of the magnetostrictive film at the top of the ridge), and thus the torque detection accuracy can be reliably increased.
In this case as well, the magnetostrictive film can be cut at the top of the ridges by the pressing step of forming the ridges and ridges on the portion of the torque sensor shaft body provided with the magnetostrictive material. It can be easily manufactured without requiring a separate process.

A first embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 5 shows the overall structure of the torque sensor 11, which has a torque sensor shaft 12 in the center. This torque sensor shaft 12 is composed of a torque sensor shaft main body 13, a magnetostrictive material 14 provided at two adjacent positions in the middle in the left-right direction in the drawing, a concave strip portion 15 and a convex strip portion 16. Details of this will be described later.

  A coil 17 is wound around a bobbin 18 around the outer periphery of the portion of the torque sensor shaft 12 having the magnetostrictive material 14, the recess 15 and the protrusion 16. Two connection pins 19 made of a conductive material are inserted into and fixed to the bobbin 18, and each end of the coil 17 is connected to an inner portion of the connection pin 19.

  Bearings 20 are mounted on both sides of the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 having the magnetostrictive material 14, the concave strip portion 15, and the convex strip portion 16, and the frame 21 is covered from both the bearings 20 to both the bobbins 18. Disguise. A relay substrate 23 on which various electrical components 22 are mounted is attached to the outside of the left side portion of the frame 21 in the figure, and the distal end portion of the connection pin 19 protruding from the frame 21 is mounted on the relay substrate 23. Are connected by soldering or the like.

  The various electrical components 22 mounted on the relay substrate 23 detect the torque acting on the torque sensor shaft 12 in cooperation with the coil 17, and magnetostriction is caused by the stress exerted by the torque acting on the torque sensor shaft 12. The torque acting on the torque sensor shaft 12 is detected by detecting the change in the magnetic permeability according to the change in the magnetic permeability of the material 14.

Here, the torque sensor shaft 12 will be described in detail. In manufacturing the torque sensor shaft 12, first, the torque sensor shaft main body 13 is made of a metal such as stainless steel, as shown in FIGS. It is formed in the columnar shape shown in (a).
Next, as shown in FIG. 3B and FIG. 4B, a magnetostrictive material 14 is formed in a film shape by plating in the intermediate portion of the torque sensor shaft body 13. In this case, the magnetostrictive material 14 is made of, for example, an alloy of nickel and iron, and wet electrolytic plating is adopted for plating.

  Thereafter, the portion of the torque sensor shaft body 13 provided with the magnetostrictive material 14 is pressed. In this case, the pressing is due to rolling. As shown in FIG. 3C, the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 provided with the magnetostrictive material 14 is placed on each of the two rolling dies 31, 32. The torque sensor shaft main body 13 is rotated as indicated by an arrow C by clamping the surface between the teeth 31a and 32a and moving the rolling dies 31 and 32 in opposite directions indicated by arrows A and B ( 4) on the outer peripheral surface portion of the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 provided with the magnetostrictive material 14 by the teeth 31a and 32a, as shown in FIG. A portion 15 and a ridge portion 16 that is convex together with the magnetostrictive material 14 are formed.

  FIG. 6 shows the concave stripe portion 15 and the convex stripe portion 16 formed on the outer peripheral surface portion of the portion where the magnetostrictive material 14 of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 is provided in this manner. Inclined with respect to the axial direction so that the stress due to the torque acting on the shaft 12 is effectively applied to the film of the magnetostrictive material 14, and in particular, inclined with an angle of about 45 degrees so that the stress is most effective on the magnetostrictive material 14. However, the direction of the inclination is reversed between the concave portion 15 and the convex portion 16 on the left side and the concave portion 15 and the convex portion 16 on the right side in FIG. The film of the magnetostrictive material 14 is subjected to opposite stresses on the left side and the right side in the figure.

Further, FIG. 2 shows the teeth 31a and 32a of the rolling dies 31 and 32 at this time as representative of some teeth 31a, and thereby the recess 15 formed on the torque sensor shaft body 13 and The ridge 16 is also shown as a representative part. As is apparent from FIG. 2 , the tips of the teeth 31a and 32a are pointed, and the outer peripheral surface of the torque sensor shaft body 13 pushed in by the teeth 31a and 32a has a shape corresponding to the shape of the pointed tip of the teeth 31a and 32a. A concave strip portion 15 having an inverted triangular shape is formed (a relatively flat trapezoidal convex portion 16 is formed), and a film of the magnetostrictive material 14 is formed on the bottom portion 15a of the concave portion 15 with teeth 31a, It is torn and cut by the sharp tip 32a.

  As described above, in the present configuration, the magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft 12 is manufactured by providing the magnetostrictive material 14 in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13, and then the torque sensor shaft main body 13. By pressing the portion where the magnetostrictive material 14 is provided, the concave portion 15 and the convex portion 16 are formed in the portion where the magnetostrictive material 14 of the torque sensor shaft body 13 is provided, and at the bottom portion 15a of the concave portion 15. The film of the magnetostrictive material 14 is cut.

Thereby, first, after the magnetostrictive material was provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, the concave stripe portion and the convex stripe portion were formed by pressing the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material. The effect of things is obtained. That is, since a large tensile stress is applied to the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 by the pressing force when forming the concave stripe portion 15 and the convex stripe portion 16, the compressive stress remaining in the magnetostrictive material 14 film is removed. Therefore, in this case, the detection accuracy of the torque sensor 11 can be improved without requiring an annealing process. Therefore, the production cost can be reduced and the product cost can be reduced.
Further, since the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 by plating is provided on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 in a cylindrical shape before forming the concave stripe portion 15 and the convex stripe portion 16, the current density becomes uniform and the alloy The composition can be made uniform, and the improvement in detection accuracy of the torque sensor 11 is not hindered.

In addition to the above, by cutting the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 at the bottom portion 15a of the concave strip portion 15, the change in permeability due to the stress acting on the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 at the top portion 16a of the convex strip portion 16 is independently ( This can be detected without canceling out the stress of the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 at the bottom 15a of the concave portion 15, and thus a high accuracy of torque detection can be obtained with certainty.
In addition, in this case, the film 15 of the magnetostrictive material 14 is cut at the bottom portion 15a of the concave stripe portion 15, and the concave stripe portion 15 and the convex stripe portion 16 are formed in the portion where the magnetostrictive material 14 of the torque sensor shaft body 13 is provided. Since it can be performed in the pressing step, it can be easily manufactured without requiring a separate step.

7 and 8 show a second embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention. The same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in the first embodiment, and the description will be made. Omitted and only the differences are described.
In this case, the tips of the teeth 31b and 32b of the rolling dies 31 and 32 are formed by chamfering in a curved surface shape (in this case as well, a part of the teeth 31b is shown as a representative, thereby torque The concave strip portion 15 and the convex strip portion 16 formed in the sensor shaft main body 13 are also representatively shown in part).

  With this configuration, the outer circumferential surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body 13 pushed by the teeth 31b and 32b is formed with a generally semicircular concave strip portion 15 corresponding to the tip shape chamfered into the curved shape of the teeth 31b and 32b. (A ridge portion 16 having a substantially rectangular shape that is relatively narrower than the ridge portion 16 of the first embodiment is formed), and the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 is formed on the top portion 16a of the ridge portion 16 with the teeth 31b. , 32b are stretched and cut by portions 31c, 32c.

Thereby, first, after the magnetostrictive material was provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft main body, the concave stripe portion and the convex stripe portion were formed by pressing the portion provided with the magnetostrictive material. In addition to the effect, the change in permeability due to the stress acting on the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 at the bottom portion 15a of the concave strip portion 15 is independently canceled (the stress of the film of the magnetostrictive material 14 at the top portion 16a of the convex strip portion 16 is offset. In this case, too, it is possible to reliably obtain a high torque detection accuracy.
Also in this case, the magnetostrictive material 14 is cut at the apex 16a of the ridge portion 16, and the concave portion 15 and the ridge portion 16 are formed in the portion of the torque sensor shaft body 13 provided with the magnetostrictive material 14. Since it can be performed in the pressing step, it can be easily manufactured without requiring a separate step.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited only to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and in particular, the magnetostrictive material 14 (the concave strip portion 15 and the convex strip portion 16) is the two portions of the torque sensor shaft main body 13. Of these, the coil 17 may be provided only for the pattern, or the coil 17 may be provided twice per magnetostrictive material 14, etc. The present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not departing from the gist.

Sectional drawing of the principal part of the torque sensor shaft which shows 1st Example of this invention. Partial enlarged sectional view of the processing side and the processing side of the torque sensor shaft The figure which shows the process of a torque sensor shaft in order of (a)-(c). The figure which shows the process change of a torque sensor shaft in order of (a)-(c). Cross section of torque sensor Side view of main parts of torque sensor shaft FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 2 equivalent diagram Partially broken perspective view of a torque sensor shaft showing a conventional example

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 12 is a torque sensor shaft, 13 is a torque sensor shaft main body, 14 is a magnetostrictive material, 15 is a concave strip portion, 15a is a bottom portion of the concave strip portion, 16 is a convex strip portion, and 16a is a top portion of the convex strip portion. .

Claims (2)

A magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft body,
After that, by pressing the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body provided with the magnetostrictive material, the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body provided with the magnetostrictive material is provided with a concave portion where the torque sensor shaft main body is concave, and relative to it. A method for producing a magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft, wherein a ridge portion having a convex portion on the torque sensor shaft body is formed and a film of a magnetostrictive material is cut at a bottom portion of the ridge portion. A magnetostrictive material is provided in a film shape by plating on the outer peripheral surface portion of the torque sensor shaft body,
After that, by pressing the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body provided with the magnetostrictive material, the portion of the torque sensor shaft main body provided with the magnetostrictive material is provided with a concave portion where the torque sensor shaft main body is concave, and relative to it. A method for manufacturing a magnetostrictive torque sensor shaft, wherein a convex portion of the torque sensor shaft main body is formed on the top of the convex portion, and a film of a magnetostrictive material is cut at a top portion of the convex portion.

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