JP5517748B2 - Driving force transmission mechanism and lifting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving force transmission mechanism and an elevating device using the same, and is particularly suitable for a medical examination imaging table, a massage bed, an industrial table, and the like that require an elevating function for heavy objects.

  In a conventional lifting device, two actuators are used, and each of the two actuators is rotatably attached to one end of a pair of link mechanisms, and the other end (opposite end) of the link mechanism. The other end of the actuator is rotatably attached.

  As the two actuators expand and contract, the link angle of the link mechanism changes, and the gantry moves up and down (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2001-309948 A JP 2007-117182 A

  However, in the conventional lifting device, since both ends of the two actuators are rotatably attached to the link mechanism, one of the actuators is operated due to disconnection of electrical wiring or mechanical failure during the operation of the actuator. When it becomes impossible, there is a problem that the frame cannot be raised or lowered.

  That is, when one actuator becomes inoperable during the operation of the two actuators, the other actuator is operating normally. Therefore, due to the driving force from the normally operating actuator side, force is applied to the inoperable actuator via the link mechanism, the joint part of both actuators is engaged, and the platform can be raised and lowered The situation of disappearing occurs.

In addition, when the driving force of the actuator is strong, a situation may occur in which the inoperable actuator is mechanically destroyed.
The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of raising and lowering a gantry even when any of a plurality of actuators becomes inoperable.

  In this column, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the reference numerals used in the “Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” column are attached as necessary, which means that the scope of claims is limited by this reference numeral. is not.

  The invention made in order to solve the problem described in the above “problem to be solved by the invention” includes a first member (40) and a second member (50) constituting a link mechanism capable of relative displacement with respect to each other. A driving force transmission mechanism (10) for exerting a driving force of an actuator (20, 30) to relatively displace the first member (40) and the second member (50), which are arranged in parallel in the same direction. A plurality of actuators (20, 30) having one end connected to the second member (50), and the other end of each of the plurality of actuators (20, 30). And a crank mechanism (60, 70) for connecting the first member (40).

  In such a driving force transmission mechanism (10), the first member (40) and the second member (50) constituting the link mechanism when the plurality of actuators (20, 30) extend and contract in parallel in synchronization. ) Is applied to the crank mechanisms (60, 70) of the (20, 30) of each actuator evenly.

Therefore, the relative position (link angle) of the first member (40) and the second member (50) changes with the crank mechanisms (60, 70) closed.
However, when one of the actuators (20, 30) is stopped due to disconnection or mechanical failure when the plurality of actuators (20, 30) are operating in the extending direction, the other actuator (20, 30) is stopped. ) Continues to operate in the direction of elongation.

  At this time, the crank mechanism (60, 70) provided at one end of the stopped actuator (20, 30) opens according to the extension of the operating actuator (20, 30).

  Therefore, as in the conventional driving force transmission mechanism (10), the actuator (20, 30) stops in a state where the actuator (20, 30) and the first member (40) are engaged, or the actuator (20, 30) is destroyed. It is never done.

  In addition, when one of the actuators (20, 30) is stopped due to a disconnection or a mechanical failure when the plurality of actuators (20, 30) are operating in a contracting direction, the other actuator (20, 30) is stopped. ) Continues to operate in the direction of contraction.

  At this time, the crank mechanism (60, 70) provided at one end of the operating actuator (20, 30) opens according to the contraction of the operating actuator (20, 30). Therefore, the actuator (20, 30) is not stopped or destroyed as in the case where the actuator (20, 30) is extended.

Here, “aligned in parallel and parallel” means that a plurality of actuators (20, 30) are arranged side by side so that their expansion and contraction directions are parallel.
By the way, in the conventional lifting device, when the actuator is contracted, that is, when the coupling part is engaged with the frame lowered, the repair work such as replacing the broken actuator under the frame at a low position. Such maintenance work is very cumbersome and large.

  Therefore, as described in claim 2, the pedestal that moves up and down with the relative displacement between the driving force transmission mechanism (10) according to claim 1 and the first member (40) and the second member (50). (80) and the lifting device (1).

  In this case, for example, in the lifting device such as a medical bed, a medical examination table, a medical examination photographing table, a massage bed, or an industrial table, the effect of the invention according to claim 1 can be obtained.

  Furthermore, when the driving force transmission mechanism (10) according to claim 1 is used, the gantry (80) can always be raised even when a plurality of actuators have failed. Accordingly, repair work such as replacement of the failed actuator (20, 30) can be performed in a state where the gantry (80) is raised, that is, in a state where the gantry (80) is at a high position. Can be easily.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the crank mechanism (60, 70) is provided with detection means (100, 102) for detecting that the crank mechanism (60, 70) is in an open state and outputting it to the outside. It is good to prepare. In this way, the fact that the crank mechanism (60, 70) has been opened can be output to the outside as a signal.

  Then, using the signal indicating that the crank mechanism (60, 70) is in the open state, for example, various controls such as stopping the lifting device (1) or notifying the failure can be performed. .

  Here, “the crank mechanism (60, 70) has been opened” will be described. As described above, when one of the plurality of actuators (20, 30) fails, the other actuator (20, 70) 30) operates (expands and contracts), the crank mechanism (60, 70) provided in the failed actuator (20, 30) opens. Therefore, when the opening becomes a predetermined size, it is determined that “the crank mechanism (60, 70) has been opened”.

  Further, when a signal indicating the open state of the crank mechanism (60, 70) is used, the crank mechanism (60, 70) output from the detection means (100, 102) is open as described in claim 4. Based on a signal indicating that the crank mechanism (60, 70) has been opened, a notification means (110) indicating that the crank mechanism has been opened may be provided.

  In this way, when any of the actuators (20, 30) of the elevating device (1) fails and cannot be expanded and contracted, it can be notified that the failure has occurred. Therefore, the user can quickly perform a procedure such as stopping the lifting device (1), and thus the lifting device (1) can be made safer.

  In addition, as a method of notification by the notification means (110), a method using sound such as a buzzer or sound, or a method using light such as blinking a lamp or LED or displaying a failure indication on an LED panel, or the like. Can be used.

  Further, the driving force transmission mechanism (10) is activated based on a signal indicating that the crank mechanism (60, 70) detected by the detection means (100, 102) is in an open state. You may make it provide the control means (90) which stops.

  In this way, when any of the actuators (20, 30) fails, the operation of the driving force transmission mechanism (10) can be stopped, that is, the lifting operation of the lifting device (1) can be stopped. A safe lifting device (1) can be obtained.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a lifting device 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a driving force transmission mechanism 10. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the conventional electric lifting apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the operation state which lifted the mount frame 80 in the state which the electric actuators 20 and 30 of the raising / lowering apparatus 1 contracted. It is a perspective view which shows the operation state when one actuator 30 stops when two actuators 20 and 30 are operating in the extending direction. It is a perspective view which shows the operation state when one actuator 30 stops when the two actuators 20 and 30 are operate | moving in the shrinking direction.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

The structure of the raising / lowering apparatus 1 to which this invention was applied is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the lifting device 1. As shown in FIG.
A control device 90, limit switches 100 and 102, a notification device 110, a gantry 80, and a driving force transmission mechanism 10 are provided.

  The control device 90 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, power supply unit, and operation unit (not shown). By supplying / stopping power to the motors 26 and 36 of the electric actuators 20 and 30 according to the operation of the operation unit, the motors 26 and 36 of the electric actuators 20 and 30 are operated to expand and contract the rods 24 and 34.

  The notification device 110 outputs the crank mechanisms 60, 70 based on a signal output from limit switches 100, 102 attached to the crank mechanisms 60, 70, which will be described later, and indicating that the crank mechanisms 60, 70 are open. It is a device that notifies that it has been opened.

As a notification method, the fact that the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are opened is notified by display on the LED panel 111 (see FIG. 1) or voice notification by the voice notification device 112 (see FIG. 1).
The driving force transmission mechanism 10 exerts a driving force on the first member 40 and the second member 50 constituting a link mechanism capable of relative displacement with respect to each other by expansion and contraction of the two electric actuators 20 and 30. This is a mechanism for transmitting a driving force for relatively displacing the second member 50.

The configuration of the driving force transmission mechanism 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the driving force transmission mechanism 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the driving force transmission mechanism 10 includes two electric actuators 20 and 30, a first member 40, a second member 50, and crank mechanisms 60 and 70.

  The two electric actuators 20 and 30 are constituted by bodies 22 and 32 and rods 24 and 34, respectively, and motors 26 and 36 (see FIG. 1) housed in the bodies 22 and 32 are supplied from the controller 90. The rods 24 and 34 are expanded and contracted by a ball screw (not shown) by operating (rotating) in response to the supply of electric power.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first member 40 includes two plate-like vertical members 41, 42 arranged in parallel, and in the vicinity of both ends of the vertical members 41, 42, in a direction perpendicular to the vertical members 41, 42. It is a frame-shaped member formed in the substantially rectangular shape comprised from the horizontal members 43 and 44 arrange | positioned in this.

  Similar to the first member 40, the second member 50 is a substantially rectangular frame-shaped member composed of two plate-like vertical members 51, 52 and horizontal members 53, 54 arranged in parallel. . In addition, the longitudinal lengths of the transverse members 53 and 54 of the second member 50 are shorter than the longitudinal lengths of the transverse members 43 and 44 of the first member 40.

  A through-hole is provided in a substantially central portion of the vertical members 41 and 42 of the first member 40 and the vertical members 51 and 52 of the second member, and the second member 50 includes the first member 40 as shown in FIG. The first member 40 is rotatably coupled to the first member 40 by a pin 45 and a pin 46 inserted into the through hole.

  Further, an attachment member 55 for attaching the end portions of the rods 24 and 34 of the electric actuators 20 and 30 is arranged in parallel with the lateral members 53 and 54 in the vicinity of the through hole of the second member 50. To this attachment member 55, flanges 56 and 57 for attaching the ends of the rods 24 and 34 of the electric actuators 20 and 30 are attached.

  The crank mechanism 60 is a mechanism provided with two parallel members in which the ends of two plate-like members 61 and 62 are coupled by a pin 63 so as to be rotatable around a pin 63. The crank mechanism 70 is also a crank mechanism. The configuration is the same as 60.

  The two electric actuators 20 and 30 are arranged in parallel with their orientations aligned, and the ends of the rods 24 and 34 are connected to the flanges 56 and 57 of the mounting member 55 of the second member 50 by pins 58 and 59, respectively. The ends of the end bodies 22 and 32 are connected to one end side of the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 (end portions not connected to the plates 63 and 73 of the plate-like members 61 and 71).

The other end side of the crank mechanisms 60, 70 (the end portion not connected by the pins 63, 73 of the plate-like members 62, 72) is fixed to the transverse member 44 of the first member 40 by welding or bolts. Yes.
Further, the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are provided with limit switches 100 and 102 for detecting that the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are opened as shown in FIG. 2 and outputting the detection results to the outside as signals. Yes.

  The gantry 80 (see FIG. 1) is installed at the upper end portions of the first member 40 and the second member 50, and moves up and down as the link angle α of the link mechanism formed by the first member 40 and the second member 50 changes. For example, a medical bed, a medical examination table, a medical examination imaging table, a massage bed, or an industrial table.

(Operation of lifting device 1)
Prior to describing the operation of the lifting device 1 to which the present invention is applied, a conventional electric lifting device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a conventional electric lifting device.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the two electric actuators 2 and 3 are fixed to the link member 4 so as to be rotatable by pins 6a and 6b, respectively, and are fixed to the link member 5 so as to be rotatable by pins 7a and 7b. ing. Further, the link member 4 and the link member 5 are coupled so as to be rotatable at their substantially central portions by pins 8a and 8b to constitute a link mechanism.

  Therefore, in the conventional electric lifting device, when the two electric actuators 2 and 3 are extended and contracted in parallel, the link members 4 and 5 change the link angle around the pins 8a and 8b. As a result, the gantry 80 (not shown) moves up and down.

  In the illustrated example, the gantry 80 moves up and down by about 500 [mm] with respect to the expansion and contraction of the electric actuators 2 and 3 by 100 [mm] depending on the connection position of the electric actuators 2 and 3 and the link members 4 and 5. To do.

  However, when one side of the two electric actuators 2, 3, for example, the electric actuator 2 stops expanding or contracting due to a disconnection or a mechanical failure, the electric actuator 3 tries to continue to expand and contract, so the pins 6 a and 6 b When the electric actuator 3 stops in a state where it is bitten, or when the force of the electric actuator 3 is strong, a failure occurs in which the portion from the pins 6a and 6b of the electric actuators 2 and 3 is destroyed.

  On the other hand, the action | operation of the raising / lowering apparatus 1 to which this invention was applied is demonstrated based on FIGS. 4 is a perspective view showing an operating state in which the gantry 80 is lifted with the electric actuators 20 and 30 of the lifting device 1 contracted, and FIG. 5 is operated in a direction in which the two electric actuators 20 and 30 extend. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operating state when one of the electric actuators 30 is stopped when the two electric actuators 30 are operating in a contracting direction. It is a perspective view which shows the operation state at the time of doing.

  In the normal operation of the lifting / lowering device 1, that is, when the two electric actuators 20 and 30 extend and contract in parallel in synchronization, as shown in FIG. 2, the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are mounted on a stand 80 (see FIG. 1). ) And the first member 40 and the second member 50 are kept closed by a load such as their own weight.

  Therefore, the link angle of the link mechanism constituted by the first member 40 and the second member 50 changes, and as a result, the gantry 80 moves up and down, which is the same as the conventional electric lifting device. Here, the link angle is an angle formed by the first member 40 and the second member 50, and is an angle indicated by α in FIG.

  However, as shown in FIG. 5, when the two electric actuators 20 and 30 are operating in the extending direction, that is, when the gantry 80 is raised, the electric actuator 30 is activated due to disconnection or mechanical failure. When stopped, the electric actuator 20 continues to operate in the direction of extension.

  At this time, since the crank mechanism 70 opens according to the extension of the electric actuator 20, the pins of the flanges 56 and 57, which are connecting portions of the electric actuators 20 and 30 and the second member 50, as in the conventional electric lifting device. There is no possibility that the electric actuators 20 and 30 are stopped or the electric actuators 20 and 30 are destroyed.

  At this time, when the crank mechanism 70 is opened, the limit switch 102 attached to the crank mechanism 70 is operated, and the crank mechanism 70 is opened by the notification device 110, that is, the electric actuator 30 is broken. It is informed that it is stopped.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the two electric actuators 20 and 30 are operating in the contracting direction, that is, when the gantry 80 is lowered, the electric actuator 30 stops operating due to disconnection or mechanical failure. In this case, the electric actuator 20 continues to operate in the direction of contraction.

  At this time, since the crank mechanism 60 opens according to the contraction of the electric actuator 20, the electric actuators 20 and 30 are not stopped or destroyed as described above.

  At this time, when the crank mechanism 60 is opened, the limit switch 100 attached to the crank mechanism 60 is operated, and the crank mechanism 60 is opened by the notification device 110, that is, the electric actuator 30 is broken. It is informed that it is stopped.

(Characteristics of lifting device 1)
In the lifting device 1 described above, even if one of the plurality of electric actuators 20 and 30 fails and stops and the other normal electric actuators 20 and 30 continue to expand and contract, the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 Therefore, the electric actuators 20 and 30 and the first member 40 are not stopped in a state where the electric actuators 20 and 30 and the first member 40 are engaged with each other, and the electric actuators 20 and 30 are not destroyed.

  Further, the gantry 80 can always be raised even when a plurality of actuators fail in a contracted position. Accordingly, repair work such as replacement of the failed electric actuators 20 and 30 can be performed in a state where the gantry 80 is raised, that is, in a state where the gantry 80 is at a high position. it can.

  Further, when the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are opened, that is, the notification device 110 notifies that the electric actuators 20 and 30 have failed, or the control device 90 stops the lifting operation of the gantry 80. Therefore, a safe lifting device 1 can be obtained.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, A various aspect can be taken.

(1) In the above embodiment, the electric actuators 20 and 30 are used as the actuator, but a hydraulic actuator may be used.
(2) In the above embodiment, the notification device 110 only notifies that the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 are in the open state (the electric actuators 20 and 30 are stopped). , 102 may be input to the control device 90, and the electric actuators 20, 30 may be stopped by the control device 90 when it is detected that the crank mechanisms 60, 70 are open.

(3) In the above embodiment, the number of the electric actuators 20 and 30 is two, but may be two or more.
(4) Instead of the limit switches 100 and 102, a sensor such as a potentiometer for detecting the opening degree of the crank mechanisms 60 and 70 may be used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Elevator, 2, 3 ... Electric actuator, 4, 5 ... Link member, 6a, 6b, 7a7b, 8a, 8b ... Pin, 10 ... Driving force transmission mechanism, 20, 30 ... Electric actuator, 22, 32 ... Body 24, 34 ... rod, 26, 36 ... motor, 40 ... first member, 41, 42 ... vertical member, 43, 44 ... horizontal member, 45, 46 ... pin, 50 ... second member, 51, 52 ... vertical Members 53, 54 ... transverse members, 55 ... mounting members, 56, 57 ... flanges, 58, 59 ... pins, 60 ... crank mechanisms, 61, 62 ... plate-like members, 63 ... pins, 70 ... crank mechanisms, 71. 72: plate member, 73: pin, 80: mount, 90 ... control device, 100, 102 ... limit switch, 110 ... notification device, 111 ... LED panel, 112 ... voice notification device.

Claims (5)

A driving force transmission mechanism for applying a driving force by expansion and contraction of an actuator to the first member and the second member constituting a link mechanism capable of relative displacement relative to each other to displace the first member and the second member relative to each other. There,
A plurality of actuators arranged in parallel with one orientation and having one end connected to the second member;
A crank mechanism provided at the other end of each of the plurality of actuators and connecting the plurality of actuators and the first member;
A driving force transmission mechanism comprising: A driving force transmission mechanism according to claim 1;
A gantry that moves up and down with relative displacement between the first member and the second member;
A lifting device characterized by comprising: The lifting device according to claim 2,
A lifting device characterized in that the crank mechanism is provided with detecting means for detecting that the crank mechanism is in an open state and outputting the detection result to the outside as a signal. The lifting device according to claim 3,
An elevating apparatus comprising: an informing means for informing that the crank mechanism is opened based on a signal output from the detecting means indicating that the crank mechanism is in an open state. In the lifting device according to claim 3 or 4,
An elevating apparatus comprising control means for stopping the operation of the driving force transmission mechanism based on a signal detected by the detecting means and indicating that the crank mechanism has been opened.

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