JP5234249B2 - Actuator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric actuator used in general industrial electric motors, automobiles, ships, and the like.

In a relatively small vessel that drives a screw with an internal combustion engine, the screw rotation in the forward direction and the screw rotation in the reverse direction are switched via a wire connected to a lever operated by the operator. The dog clutch is switched and engaged with the forward gear or the reverse gear. However, in recent years, there has been a demand for switching the dog clutch by electric drive for labor saving. Here, for example, various actuators for vehicles have been developed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2), and it is conceivable to divert them.
JP-A-9-224348 JP 2001-280438 A

  However, for example, marine actuators must be considered to be used in the open ocean, and it is desired to develop them with a concept different from that of general actuators.

  For example, in the actuator disclosed in Patent Document 1, the output shaft is connected to a nut, and the output shaft is supported by a support member fitted on the inner diameter side of the tip of a cover fitted to the housing. It is positioned in the radial direction. In addition, a seal ring for preventing entry of foreign matter is assembled in the vicinity of the support member.

  Here, in the actuator shown in Patent Document 1, the output shaft support member has a simple cylindrical shape having an inner diameter through which the output shaft passes and an outer diameter for fitting into the cover. A seal ring is provided for the purpose of preventing entry of foreign matter, but this seal ring is generally made of a rubber material typified by nitrile rubber. However, the sealing performance of the output shaft by such a seal ring often depends on the elasticity of the rubber material.

  In this way, in the case of a seal ring whose sealing performance must depend on the elasticity of the material, it is necessary to accurately align the center of the seal ring with the center of the output shaft in order to exert a sufficient sealing function. It becomes. However, since the seal ring itself generally does not have a function of aligning the housing and the output shaft, a support member for guiding the output shaft is usually provided near the seal ring so that the center of the seal and the output shaft is located. The function to match is carried. Therefore, such a support member is required to have a highly accurate inner diameter dimension, outer diameter dimension, and inner / outer diameter concentricity including a fitting clearance with its own housing, and there is a problem that manufacturing cost is increased. .

  Further, such a support member needs to take care not to damage the surface of the output shaft when guiding the output shaft. The reason is obvious, because the surface damage of the output shaft can be a direct factor in the deterioration of the sealing performance.

  Because of such demands, resinous members are often used for many support member materials. Especially when the surface hardness of the output shaft cannot be increased due to various requirements of the actuator (for example, when the output shaft must be made of SUS non-heat treated material for the purpose of giving the output shaft rust prevention capability). In general, a resin material is used. In addition, since there exists such a purpose, naturally the glass fiber which is a dimension stabilizing material cannot be mix | blended with a resin material. This is because the glass fiber may damage the surface of the output shaft.

  Under such restrictions, injection molding is generally used for mass production of resin support members. Although injection molding is suitable for mass production, there is a problem of shrinkage at the time of curing as a drawback, and there is a problem in dimensional stability of the molded product.

  Actuators are often used in humid environments. In particular, when used for ships, the humidity is significantly increased in the use environment. Therefore, particularly high sealing performance is required for marine actuators. On the other hand, as described above, it is necessary to manufacture a support member having a great deal of sealing performance with resin. However, any material is not satisfactory as long as it is a resin, and it is difficult to use a nylon system that has water absorption properties. This is because the water-absorbed material expands to have a large inner diameter, and the gap with the output shaft becomes large, which causes a problem that affects the sealing performance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an actuator that can exhibit a sealing function at a low cost.

The actuator of the present invention is an actuator that drives a drive rod.
A housing;
An electric motor attached to the housing and having a rotating shaft;
A drive mechanism for driving the drive rod by transmitting a rotational force from the rotary shaft;
The drive mechanism includes a rotating element that rotates with respect to the housing, an axial moving element that is coupled to the driving rod, and a rolling element that is disposed between the rotating element and the axial moving element. The rotational movement of the rotating element is converted into the axial movement of the axial movement element;
The drive rod is slidably supported by an annular support member fitted to the inner periphery of the housing, and the support member is interrupted in a part of the circumferential direction.
The support member integrally forms an outer cylindrical portion, an inner cylindrical portion surrounded by the outer cylindrical portion, and a wall portion that connects the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion to each other. and is, the wall portion and the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion, Ri Contact interrupted part of the circumferential direction,
The wall portion connects the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion to each other at the center .

  According to the present invention, the drive rod is slidably supported by an annular support member fitted to the inner periphery of the housing, and the support member is interrupted in a part of the circumferential direction. Both the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the support member can follow the inner diameter of the housing having a relatively large rigidity without setting a specific value depending on the elastic characteristics of the material. Therefore, if the housing inner diameter is accurately formed, the position of the center of the drive rod that should be accommodated in the center is determined only by the thickness of the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter in the free state of the support member. . Therefore, when molding the support member, only the wall thickness, which is the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter, is much easier to manage than the constraint conditions of the outer diameter dimension, the inner diameter dimension, and the concentricity of both. It is sufficient to manage, and an inexpensive support member can be manufactured. The “temporary outer diameter” refers to the outer diameter of the support member in a free state, and the “temporary inner diameter” refers to the inner diameter of the support member in a free state.

  In particular, when the support member is made of a resin member by injection molding, further effects can be expected. More specifically, in resin injection molding, there is a tendency that the dimension of the molded product is not stable due to the shrinkage at the time of curing, but the support member according to the present invention is simply managed only by the thickness. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to accurately control the diameter after molding. Accordingly, the support member can be mass-produced by injection molding, and further, the unique flexibility of the resin is more effective, and the drive rod can be accurately aligned with the inner diameter of the housing.

  Furthermore, if the support member is formed of a material with low water absorption, it is not necessary to allow for dimensional expansion due to moisture absorption, so it is possible to distribute the amount of moisture expansion to the initial gap filling, which in turn reduces the sealing performance. Can contribute to improvement. This is particularly effective in marine actuators. Examples of the material having low water absorption include polyacetal resin.

  The support member integrally includes an outer cylindrical portion, an inner cylindrical portion surrounded by the outer cylindrical portion, and a central wall portion that connects the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion to each other at the center. If the outer cylindrical portion, the inner cylindrical portion, and the central wall portion are partially interrupted in the circumferential direction, the central wall portion may cause sink marks during cooling after molding. Is preferable.

  When the discontinuity amount of the outer cylindrical portion is smaller than the discontinuity amount of the inner cylindrical portion or the central wall portion, the driving rod can be easily inserted into the support member.

  If the inner cylindrical portion has a chamfered portion at the inner peripheral side end portion, the driving rod can be easily inserted into the support member.

  When the protrusion that engages with the concave portion of the housing protrudes in the axial direction from the support member when the support member is attached to the housing, the rotation of the support member can be prevented by the engagement of the protrusion. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an outboard motor using the actuator according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the actuator according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view of the actuator of FIG. 2 as viewed in the direction of arrow III. FIG. 4 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 3 taken along line IV-IV and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

  In FIG. 1, the outboard motor 2 has a casing 2a fixed to the hull 1 and a cowling 2b attached to the upper portion thereof. An engine (not shown) in which the output shaft 3 is extended to the casing 2a is mounted inside the cowling 2b. A bevel gear 3 a is attached to the lower end of the output shaft 3.

  A propeller shaft 4 is horizontally disposed below the casing 2a and is rotatably supported. In the figure of the propeller shaft 4, the right end side protrudes outward from the casing 2 a, and the propeller 5 is attached to the end portion.

  The propeller shaft 4 passes through a forward bevel gear 6 and a reverse bevel gear 7 that mesh with the bevel gear 3 a, and a dog clutch 8 is disposed between the bevel gears 6 and 7. The dog clutch 8 can move relative to the propeller shaft 4 in the axial direction but can rotate integrally, and the bevel gears 6 and 7 can rotate relative to each other. Although not shown, the dog clutch 8 has protrusions facing in both axial directions. When the dog clutch 8 moves to the left in the figure, the protrusion engages with the concave portion of the bevel gear 6, and the dog clutch 8 and the bevel gear 6. And rotate together. On the other hand, by moving to the right in the figure, the protrusion engages with the concave portion of the bevel gear 7, and the dog clutch 8 and the bevel gear 7 rotate integrally.

  The dog clutch 8 is driven in the axial direction by a cam shaft 9. The cam shaft 9 is coupled so as to be displaced in the axial direction in accordance with the rotation of the operation shaft 10. The operation shaft 10 is connected to a drive shaft (drive rod) 117 of an actuator 100 described later via a link member 11.

  In FIG. 4, a cylindrical housing 101 includes an aluminum housing main body 101A, an aluminum or resin cover member 101B assembled with bolts B (FIG. 3) on the end surface thereof, and a motor bracket 101C. . The housing body 101A has a motor chamber 101a and a screw shaft chamber 101b. A motor 102 is disposed in the motor chamber 101a. The motor 102 is fixed to a plate-shaped motor bracket 101C. The motor bracket 101C sandwiches an outer ring of a ball bearing 114 described later between the housing main body 101A and the motor chamber 101a of the housing main body 101A and the screw shaft chamber. It is attached so as to block 101b.

  A rotating shaft 102a of the electric motor 102 protrudes from the motor bracket 101C, and a metal first gear 103 is attached to the end of the rotating shaft 102a so as not to be relatively rotatable by press-fitting. A resin-made second gear 105 is rotatably disposed around the long shaft 104 implanted in the motor bracket 101C, and meshes with the large gear portion 106a of the first gear 103 and the third gear 106. Yes.

  The resin-made third gear 106 has a large gear portion 106a and a small gear portion 106b formed coaxially, and is attached to the end of the screw shaft 107 so as not to be relatively rotatable by serration coupling. A support member 108 is attached to the motor bracket 101C so as to cover a part of the third gear 106. Here, the first gear 103, the second gear 105, and the third gear 106 constitute a first power transmission mechanism.

  A fourth gear 109 disposed adjacent to the second gear 105 is rotatably supported around the long shaft 104. The resin-made fourth gear 109 has a large gear portion 109 a meshed with the small gear portion 106 b of the third gear 106 and a small gear portion 109 b formed coaxially.

  The small gear portion 109 b of the fourth gear 109 meshes with the large gear portion 111 a of the fifth gear 111 that is rotatably supported with respect to the short shaft 110 implanted in the support member 108 in parallel with the long shaft 104. ing. The resin-made fifth gear 111 has a large gear portion 111a and a small gear portion 111b formed coaxially. The small gear portion 111 b meshes with a sixth gear 112 that is disposed adjacent to the fifth gear 111 and rotatably supported around the long shaft 104. A bush for smooth rotation may be disposed between the long shaft 104 and the short shaft 110 and each gear.

  The potentiometer 113 as a sensor is fitted and disposed in the hole 101d of the cover member 101B and is fixed by a machine screw SB (FIG. 3). The measurement shaft 113a is connected to the sixth gear 112 and rotates integrally. It is like that. The tip of the long shaft 104 extending in a cantilever manner is supported by the potentiometer 113 or the hole 101d via the sixth gear 112 and the measurement shaft 113a. The potentiometer 113 can accurately detect an angle within a predetermined range (for example, 90 degrees) of the measurement axis 113a. Here, the first gear 103, the second gear 105, the third gear 106, the fourth gear 109, the fifth gear 111, and the sixth gear 112 constitute a second power transmission mechanism. The cover member 101B has a function as a gear cover for sealing so that foreign matter does not enter each gear. In addition, it is preferable to use different resin materials for the gears to be engaged with each other because wear can be suppressed.

  In FIG. 4, the screw shaft 107 is rotatably supported by a ball bearing 114 on the right end side in the drawing with respect to the housing main body 101A. The screw shaft 107 has a male screw groove 107a on the left end side.

  The screw shaft 107 passes through a cylindrical nut 115. A female screw groove 115a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the nut 115 so as to face the male screw groove 107a, and a large number of balls 116 are formed in a spiral space (rolling path) formed by both the screw grooves 107a and 115a. It is arranged to roll freely. The nut 115 is provided with a detent (not shown) with respect to the housing main body 101A and is relatively movable in the axial direction within the screw shaft chamber 101b, but is not relatively rotatable as follows. A nut 115 as an axial movement element, a screw shaft 107 as a rotation element, and a ball 116 as a rolling element constitute a ball screw mechanism, and the ball screw mechanism and the following drive shaft 117 drive the ball screw mechanism. Configure the mechanism.

  The left end of the screw shaft 107 penetrates into a bag hole 117a formed in the round shaft-shaped drive shaft 117. The right end of the drive shaft 117 in the figure is coaxially fitted to the nut 115 and connected with a pin (or connected using a cotter) so as to move integrally. The drive shaft 117 is supported by the support member 118 so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the screw shaft chamber 101b of the housing body 101A.

  5A is a front view of the support member 118, FIG. 5B is a side view of the support member 118, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view of the support member 118. In FIG. 5, the support member 118 is formed by injection molding of resin, and has an overall annular shape and a shape in which a part 118 a is notched in the circumferential direction (so-called C-shape). . In addition, since a plurality of concave portions 118b are provided on both end faces in the axial direction with thin walls (ribs) 118d arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction as stealing, the material during cooling after injection molding Can be suppressed. Further, the space between the recesses 118b aligned in the axial direction has a thin wall (rib) shape at the center, thereby concentrating the material shrinkage (shrinkage) at the center in the axial direction during cooling after injection molding. It is possible to adjust the end wall thickness of the support member 118 within an allowable range by suppressing the influence of sink marks on both end sides. Even if the diameter of the center of the support member 118 is increased, the drive shaft 117 can be held with high accuracy when assembled to the housing 101 if both ends are formed with high accuracy. In addition, a projection 118c that prevents rotation by fitting into an axial recess 110f (see FIG. 4) in the screw shaft chamber 101b of the housing main body 101A is provided on one end face in the axial direction.

  The outer diameter of the support member 118 in the free state is φA, and the inner diameter in the free state is φB. Therefore, the thickness t of the support member 118 in the radial direction is t≈ (φA−φB) / 2, but only the thickness t is accurately adjusted within the allowable range by injection molding or the like without depending on the diameter. be able to.

  In FIG. 4, a seal 119 is disposed on the left side (external side) of the support member 118, and is fixed by a retaining ring 119a that engages with the housing main body 101A, whereby the space between the housing main body 101A and the drive shaft 117 is fixed. Prevents foreign matter such as seawater and dust from entering. A hole 117b for connecting to the link member 11 is formed at the end of the drive shaft 117 protruding from the housing main body 101A.

  In FIG. 1, the wiring 102b of the motor 102 and the wiring 113b of the potentiometer 113 extend to the cowling 2b side and are further connected to a drive circuit (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, since the bevel gear 3a is always meshed with both the forward bevel gear 6 and the reverse bevel gear 7, the bevel gear to which power is transmitted from the bevel gear 3a as long as the internal combustion engine is operating. 6 and 7 rotate in opposite directions. However, in the neutral state, as shown in FIG. 1, since the dog clutch 8 is not engaged with any of the bevel gears 6 and 7, the power of the output shaft 3 is not transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 and the propeller 5 It will not rotate.

  Here, it is assumed that the operator operates a lever (not shown) in the forward direction from the neutral state. Then, in FIG. 4, electric power having a predetermined polarity is supplied to the motor 102, and the rotating shaft 102a rotates in a predetermined direction. Since the rotational force of the rotating shaft 102a is transmitted to the screw shaft 107 via the first gear 103, the second gear 105, and the third gear 106, the nut 115 is moved to the left in FIG. 4 according to the rotation of the screw shaft 107. It is displaced to. When the nut 115 is displaced to the left, the drive shaft 117 moves in a protruding direction, so that the link member 11 pivots in FIG. Accordingly, the operation shaft 10 rotates in a predetermined direction, the cam shaft 9 moves to the left via a cam mechanism (not shown), and the dog clutch 8 is engaged with the forward bevel gear 6. As a result, the power of the output shaft 3 can be transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 via the bevel gears 3a and 6 and the dog clutch 8, and the propeller 5 can be rotated forward.

  On the other hand, the rotational force of the rotating shaft 102a is applied to the measuring shaft 113a of the potentiometer 113 via the first gear 103, the second gear 105, the third gear 106, the fourth gear 109, the fifth gear 111, and the sixth gear 112. Communicated. A signal corresponding to the rotation of the measuring shaft 113a is input from the potentiometer 113 to a drive circuit (not shown) via the wiring 113b. If it is determined that the screw shaft 107 is rotated by a predetermined rotation amount based on the signal, the drive circuit stops the power supply to the motor 102.

  On the other hand, when the operator operates a lever (not shown) in the reverse direction, in FIG. 4, power having a reverse polarity is supplied to the motor 102, and the rotating shaft 102 a rotates in the reverse direction. With this operation, the drive shaft 117 of the actuator 100 moves in the retracting direction. Accordingly, the operating shaft 10 rotates in the reverse direction via the link member 11 in FIG. 1, the cam shaft 9 moves to the right via the cam mechanism (not shown), and the dog clutch 8 is engaged with the reverse bevel gear 7. Let As a result, the power of the output shaft 3 can be transmitted to the propeller shaft 4 via the bevel gears 3a and 7 and the dog clutch 8, and the propeller 5 can be rotated in the reverse direction.

  According to the present embodiment, the drive shaft 117 is slidably supported by the annular support member 118 fitted to the inner periphery of the screw shaft chamber 101b of the housing main body 101A that is expanded by one step. Is interrupted at a portion (118a) in the circumferential direction, so that both the outer diameter φA and the inner diameter φB of the supporting member 118 are screw shafts having a relatively large rigidity even though the values are not particularly determined by the elastic characteristics of the material. It can be aligned along the inner diameter of the chamber 101b. Therefore, if the screw shaft chamber 101b is formed with high accuracy, the center of the drive shaft 117 that should fit in the center of the inner diameter depends only on the thickness t of the difference between the outer diameter φA and the inner diameter φB in the free state of the support member 118. The position will be determined. Therefore, when the support member 118 is molded, the outer diameter φA, the inner diameter φB, and the concentricity of the two are easier to manage than the outer diameter φA and the inner diameter φB. It is sufficient to manage only the thickness t, and an inexpensive support member 118 can be manufactured.

  In particular, when the support member 118 is made of a resin member by injection molding, a further effect can be expected. More specifically, in resin injection molding, there is a tendency that the dimension of the molded product is not stable due to shrinkage at the time of curing, but the support member 118 only needs to manage the thick part. In addition, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to accurately control the diameter after molding. Therefore, the support member 118 can be mass-produced by injection molding, and the unique flexibility of the resin is more effective, and the drive shaft 117 can be accurately aligned with the inner diameter of the screw shaft chamber 101b. it can.

  Further, if the support member 118 is formed of a material having low water absorption, it is not necessary to allow for the dimensional expansion due to moisture absorption, so that the moisture expansion can be distributed to the initial gap filling, and the sealing performance is reduced. Can contribute to improvement. This is particularly effective in marine actuators. Examples of the material having low water absorption include polyacetal resin.

  FIG. 6 is a view of a configuration according to another embodiment, taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4 and viewed in the direction of the arrow. FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the nut 115 and the drive shaft 117, but shows a state in which the anti-rotation member 130 is assembled. Since this embodiment can also be applied to the above-described embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 7, a circumferential groove 115 b extending in the circumferential direction and a longitudinal groove 115 c extending in the axial direction are formed on the outer periphery of the nut 115. The bottom surface of the circumferential groove 115b has a shape that is scraped off by two parallel surfaces across the axis, thereby forming a through groove (not shown) that connects the circumferential groove 115b and the inner circumferential surface of the nut 115. ing. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the end of the drive shaft 117, a circumferential groove 117c is formed as a hanging groove. In addition, the inner peripheral surface of the nut 115 and the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 117 have dimensions that allow a spigot fit.

  At the time of assembly, the end of the drive shaft 117 is inserted into the nut 115, and the meniscus cotters 120, 120 are inserted into the circumferential groove 115b with a not-shown through groove positioned radially outward of the circumferential groove 117c. Insert from above and below. Then, the flat portions 120a and 120a of the cotters 120 and 120 pass through the through grooves, protrude from the inner peripheral surface of the nut 115, and engage with the peripheral grooves 117c of the drive shaft 117. Thereby, the nut 115 and the drive shaft 117 are connected in the axial direction in a state where the phases in the circumferential direction are matched, and move integrally.

  Thereafter, the holding member 121 formed by cutting out a part of the ring (that is, C-shaped) is fitted into the circumferential groove 115b of the nut 115 while being elastically deformed so as to open the cutout. Accordingly, the cotters 120 and 120 are held and fixed to the inner periphery of the holding member 121 in a state of being arranged in the through groove, and the cotters 120 and 120 are prevented from coming out of the circumferential groove 115b. If the holding member 121 is made of a resin having excellent slidability and is fitted in the circumferential groove 115b of the nut 115 and has an outer diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the nut 115, the movement of the nut 115 is performed. Since it sometimes slides with respect to the inner periphery of the housing 101A, it is possible to avoid contact between metals and reduce wear and drag torque.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a prismatic detent member 130 having one end bent and having a flange portion 130a is inserted along the inner periphery of the screw shaft chamber 101b of the housing 101 as shown in FIG. The flange 130 a is engaged with a recess (not shown) of the housing 101 to fix one end to the housing 101. In this state, the leading end of the rotation preventing member 119 protrudes outward from the screw shaft chamber 101b.

  Further, when assembling the nut 115 connected to the drive shaft 117, the longitudinal groove 115c and the notch of the restraining member 121 are aligned and inserted into the screw shaft chamber 101b so as to be guided by the rotation preventing member 119 ( (See FIG. 7). As a result, the nut 115 can move in the axial direction with respect to the housing 101, but cannot rotate.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a support member 218 according to another embodiment, FIG. 9A is a front view of the support member 218, and FIG. 9B is a side view of the support member 218. FIG. 9C is a rear view of the support member 218. FIG. 9D is a view of the support member 218 in FIG. 9B cut along the line IXD-IXD and viewed in the direction of the arrow. FIG. 9 (e) is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by an arrow IXE of the support member 218 shown in FIG. 9 (d).

  The support member 218 connects the outer cylindrical part 218a, the inner cylindrical part 218b surrounded by the outer cylindrical part 218a, and the inner periphery of the outer cylindrical part 218a and the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical part 218b at the center. A disc-shaped central wall portion 218c, a longitudinal wall portion 218d extending in the axial direction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and connecting the inner periphery of the outer tubular portion 218a and the outer periphery of the inner tubular portion 218b, and a support member Three arcuate protrusions 218e are formed integrally with the outer cylindrical portion 218a on one side of 218 and are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction extending in the axial direction. The outer cylindrical portion 218a, the inner cylindrical portion 218b, and the central wall portion 218c are partially interrupted in the circumferential direction, but as shown in FIG. It is smaller than the discontinuity amount Δb of the inner cylindrical portion 218b and the central wall portion 218c. As shown in FIG. 9D, the butted end of the outer cylindrical portion 218a is slightly retracted from the end surface on the side where the projection 218e is provided.

  According to such a configuration, when the diameter of the housing member 1 is reduced in order to assemble the support member 218, both ends of the outer cylindrical portion 218a contact each other before the inner cylindrical portion 218b and the central wall portion 218c. The diameter is suppressed, which facilitates insertion of the drive shaft 117. After assembly, the tip of the rotation preventing member 130 extending to the center of the support member 218 is on the inner side in the radial direction from the abutting end of the outer cylindrical portion 218a, and the abutting of the inner cylindrical portion 218b and the central wall portion 218c. It will be located between the ends (see FIG. 6).

  According to the present embodiment, the vertical wall portion 218d that extends in the axial direction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and connects the outer cylindrical portion 218a and the inner cylindrical portion 218b is provided. Sinking (shrinkage) of the material during cooling can be suppressed. Further, since a disc-shaped central wall portion 218c for connecting the outer cylindrical portion 218a and the inner cylindrical portion 218b to each other at the center is provided, as shown in FIG. 9 (e), at the time of cooling after injection molding The shrinkage (shrinkage) C of the material at the center can be concentrated in the center in the axial direction, thereby suppressing the occurrence of sink marks at both ends, and the end wall thickness of the support member 218 is adjusted within an allowable range. It becomes possible. Even if the diameter of the center of the support member 218 is increased, the drive shaft 117 can be held with high accuracy when assembled to the housing 101 if both ends are formed with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9 (e), the inner cylindrical portion 218b has a chamfered portion 218f at the inner peripheral end, so that the drive shaft 117 can be easily inserted and the operation can be performed smoothly. it can. When the support member 218 is attached to the housing main body 101A, the arc-shaped protrusion 218e engages in the thin concave portion of the housing main body 101A, thereby preventing rotation of the housing main body 101A.

  In addition, although it is an edge of the butting end of the outer cylindrical portion 218a, it may be parallel to the axis as shown in FIG. 10 (a), or may be parallel to the axis as shown in FIG. 10 (b). They may be tilted at the same angle.

  Furthermore, the chamfered portion 218f at the inner periphery of the end portion of the inner cylindrical portion 218b may be a conical surface as shown in FIG. 11 (a), or an outwardly convex curved surface as shown in FIG. 11 (b). There may be.

  The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or improved as appropriate.

It is the schematic of the outboard motor using the actuator concerning this Embodiment. It is a front view of the actuator of a 1st embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram when the actuator of FIG. 2 is viewed in the direction of arrow III. It is the figure which cut | disconnected the structure of FIG. 3 by the IV-IV line and looked at the arrow direction. 5A is a front view of the support member 118, FIG. 5B is a side view of the support member 118, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view of the support member 118. It is the figure which cut | disconnected the structure concerning another embodiment by the VI-VI line of FIG. 4, and looked at the arrow direction. It is a figure which decomposes | disassembles and shows the nut 115 and the drive shaft 117. FIG. It is a perspective view of the support member 218 concerning another embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the supporting member 218 from each direction. It is a figure which shows the edge shape of the butting end of the outer side cylindrical part 218a. It is a figure which shows the chamfering part shape of the edge part inner periphery of the inner side cylindrical part 218b.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hull 2 Outboard motor 2a Casing 2b Cowling 3 Output shaft 3a Bevel gear 4 Propeller shaft 5 Propeller 6 Forward bevel gear 7 Reverse bevel gear 8 Dog clutch 9 Cam shaft 10 Operation shaft 11 Link member 12 Breather pipe 17 Drive shaft 100 Actuator 101 Housing 101A Housing body 101B Cover member 101C Motor bracket 101a Motor chamber 101b Screw shaft chamber 101d Hole 102 Motor 102a Rotating shaft 102b Wiring 103 First gear 104 Long shaft 105 Second gear 106 Third gear 106a Large gear portion 106b Small gear portion 107 screw shaft 107a male screw groove 108 support member 109 fourth gear 109a large gear portion 109b small gear portion 110 short shaft 111 fifth gear 111a large gear portion 111b small gear portion 112 sixth gear 113 potentiometer 113a Measuring shaft 113b Wiring 114 Ball bearing 115 Nut 115a Female thread groove 116 Ball 117 Driving shaft 117a Bag hole 118 Support member 120 Cotter 130 Non-rotating member 130a Hook portion 218 Support member 218a Outer cylindrical portion 218b Inner cylindrical portion 218c Central wall portion 218d Vertical wall 218e Projection 218f Chamfer B Bolt LB Bolt

Claims (6)

In the actuator that drives the drive rod,
A housing;
An electric motor attached to the housing and having a rotating shaft;
A drive mechanism for driving the drive rod by transmitting a rotational force from the rotary shaft;
The drive mechanism includes a rotating element that rotates with respect to the housing, an axial moving element that is coupled to the driving rod, and a rolling element that is disposed between the rotating element and the axial moving element. The rotational movement of the rotating element is converted into the axial movement of the axial movement element;
The drive rod is slidably supported by an annular support member fitted to the inner periphery of the housing, and the support member is interrupted in a part of the circumferential direction.
The support member integrally forms an outer cylindrical portion, an inner cylindrical portion surrounded by the outer cylindrical portion, and a wall portion that connects the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion to each other. and is, the wall portion and the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion, Ri Contact interrupted part of the circumferential direction,
The said wall part connects the said outer side cylindrical part and the said inner side cylindrical part mutually in the center, The actuator characterized by the above-mentioned. The amount interruption of the outer cylindrical portion, an actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that less than the amount interruption of the inner cylindrical portion or the wall portion. Said inner cylindrical portion, an actuator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a chamfered portion on the inner peripheral side end portion. The protrusion for engaging in the recess of the housing the support member when mounted on said housing, an actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that projecting axially from the support member. The actuator of any of claims 1-4 wherein the support member, characterized in that it is formed by injection molding a resin material. The actuator according to claim 5 , wherein the resin material has low water absorption.

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