JP7513504B2 - Actuator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an actuator equipped with a return spring that biases a rotary driven part in one direction.

An example of a device that has a rotary driven part is an electric valve. In general, electric valves have an emergency shutoff function that closes the valve when electricity is cut off, such as during a power outage. Most emergency shutoff functions used in electric valves are of the spring return type, which uses a return spring that biases the rotary valve shaft in the closing direction, as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

With spring-return actuators, the valve is fully closed when de-energized. For this reason, when it is necessary to hold the valve at a desired opening when de-energized, an opening holding mechanism is used that allows the valve to be opened and closed manually, and that can also stop and lock the valve against the spring force of the return spring. When such an opening holding mechanism is used, it is necessary not only to be able to manually switch between free and locked, but also to be able to automatically release the lock when motor drive is resumed.

Conventional opening degree holding mechanisms are described, for example, in Patent Documents 2 to 4. The opening degree holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 is for holding a valve (not shown) at a predetermined opening degree, and is configured as shown in Figure 11. The opening degree holding mechanism 1 shown in Patent Document 2 is configured using a drive gear 4 included in a transmission mechanism 3 that transmits the power of a motor 2, and a lock gear 5 that selectively meshes with this drive gear 4.

The transmission mechanism 3 is composed of an upstream gear 3a to which rotational force is transmitted from the motor 2, a drive gear 4 connected to the upstream gear 3a, and a group of downstream gears (not shown) to which rotational force is transmitted from the drive gear 4. The rotation of the downstream gear group is transmitted to the rotating shaft of a driven part (not shown). The transmission mechanism 3 is configured so that a manual opening/closing operation handle 6 can be connected to operate the driven part manually. Figure 11 shows the state in which the manual opening/closing operation handle 6 is connected to the drive gear 4.

The upstream gear 3a is biased in one direction by a return spring 7. The driving gear 4 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R in Fig. 11 by the spring force of the return spring 7. In the following, the direction of rotation caused by the spring force of the return spring 7 is simply referred to as the "return direction".
The locking gear 5 is a sector gear capable of meshing with the driving gear 4, and is provided on a rotating shaft 8 parallel to the axis of the driving gear 4. The locking gear 5 rotates between a locked position shown in Fig. 11 and an unlocked position shown in Fig. 12 by manually operating the rotating shaft 8. A stopper 9 is provided near the locking gear 5.

The stopper 9 restricts the drive gear 4 from rotating in the return direction when the lock gear 5 is engaged with the drive gear 4 .
The rotating shaft 8 is provided with an unlocking spring 10 that biases the locking gear 5 in a direction away from the stopper 9 .

With this opening degree holding mechanism 1, the valve can be manually opened and closed by operating the manual opening/closing operation handle 6 when the locking gear 5 is not engaged with the driving gear 4 as shown in Figure 12. To lock the valve at a specified opening degree, the operation is stopped without releasing the manual opening/closing operation handle 6 when the valve is at the specified opening degree, and the locking gear 5 is rotated against the spring force of the lock release spring 10 to engage with the driving gear 4 as shown in Figure 11.

When the locking gear 5 is engaged with the driving gear 4, releasing the grip on the manual opening/closing operation handle 6 causes the driving gear 4 to rotate in the return direction, which in turn causes the locking gear 5 to rotate toward the stopper 9. The rotation of the locking gear 5 is restricted by the locking gear 5 abutting against the stopper 9. As a result, the rotation of the driving gear 4 in the return direction is also restricted, and the valve becomes locked at a specified opening.

When the motor is driven, the drive gear 4 rotates in the opposite direction to the return direction due to the power of the motor 2, and as shown in FIG. 12, the lock gear 5 disengages from the drive gear 4 and moves to the unlocked position due to the spring force of the unlock spring 10. This automatically releases the lock.

The opening degree holding mechanism described in Patent Document 3 is configured to hold the door in a fully open or fully closed position by the spring force of a tension coil spring.
The opening degree holding mechanism described in Patent Document 4 is configured to lock the valve at a desired opening degree by manually meshing a toothed part with a gear that rotates together with the driven part.

JP 2002-206656 A JP 2007-501917 A Japanese Patent No. 3645225 Japanese Patent No. 6709140

The opening degree maintaining mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the following two problems.
The first problem is that when the locking gear 5 is engaged with the driving gear 4, the teeth may collide with each other, causing damage to the teeth.
The second problem is that the operation of locking the lock gear 5 (the operation of meshing with the drive gear 4) is troublesome. That is, in order to mesh the lock gear 5 with the drive gear 4, the manual opening/closing operation handle 6 must be operated to rotate the drive gear 4 in the return direction, and the lock gear 5 must be rotated so as to be synchronized with the drive gear 4.

The opening degree holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a problem in that it cannot hold the valve at any position between fully open and fully closed.
The opening degree holding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 4 cannot perform natural unlocking by motor drive.

The object of the present invention is to provide an actuator that can be easily locked at any position without damaging the teeth when locked, and that can be unlocked by motor drive.

In order to achieve this object, the actuator according to the present invention has a drive shaft that rotates and drives a driven part, a drive motor connected to the drive shaft via a transmission mechanism, a drive gear included in the transmission mechanism 3 and that rotates together with the drive shaft, a return spring that biases a rotor included in the transmission mechanism in a return direction that is one of the rotation directions, a protrusion that protrudes from an end surface in the axial direction of the drive gear, and a switching lever that moves in and out of the range of movement of the protrusion when the protrusion moves with the rotation of the drive gear, and switches between an unlocked state in which the rotation of the drive gear is permitted and a locked state in which the return of the drive gear is permitted. The switch lever is rotatable so that it is pushed by the protrusion and rotates when it is located within the range of movement of the protrusion. The lock mechanism includes a stopper that restricts the rotation of the switch lever, which is pushed by the protrusion and rotates when the drive gear rotates in the return direction, and an unlocking spring that urges the switch lever in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation when the rotation is restricted by the stopper. The switch lever is locked when its rotation is restricted by the stopper.

In the actuator of the present invention, the drive gear may rotate multiple times as the driven part rotates from one end of the operable range to the other end.

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

In the present invention, in the actuator, the switching lever may be provided on a rotation axis parallel to the axis of the drive gear.

In the present invention, since locking can be achieved without using the teeth of the drive gear, the teeth of the drive gear are not damaged.
Since the switching lever abuts against the protrusion of the drive gear, the locking operation can be performed more easily than when the teeth are engaged. The drive gear is configured to rotate multiple times, so it can be locked at any position. When the drive gear is driven by the motor to rotate in the direction opposite to the return direction, the switching lever is pushed and rotated by the spring force of the lock release spring, and disengages from the protrusion of the drive gear and automatically returns to the initial position.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an actuator which does not damage the teeth when locked, can be easily locked at any position, and can be released by motor drive.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an actuator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the actuator. FIG. 3 is a side view of the locking mechanism according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the driving gear. FIG. 5 is a side view of the locking mechanism. FIG. 6 is a side view of the locking mechanism. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a lock mechanism according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the locking mechanism. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a driving gear according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the driving gear. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of a conventional opening degree maintaining mechanism. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the configuration of a conventional opening degree maintaining mechanism.

(First embodiment)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an actuator according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
(Overall explanation of the actuator)
1 can be used to drive an electric valve (not shown) or a damper provided in an air conditioning duct, etc. In this embodiment, an example of the case where the actuator 11 according to the present invention is used in an electric valve will be described.

The actuator 11 includes a drive shaft 13 that rotates and drives a valve element 12, which is a driven component of the electric valve, and a drive motor 15 connected to the drive shaft 13 via a transmission mechanism 14. The components that make up the actuator 11 are housed in a case 16.
The drive shaft 13 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown) with its axial direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 1. A rotary valve element 12 is provided at one end of the drive shaft 13. The valve element 12 is fully closed when the drive shaft 13 rotates in one direction, and is fully open when the drive shaft 13 rotates in the other direction. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the actuator 11 is attached to the upper end of the motor-operated valve and the drive shaft 13 extends in the vertical direction. The valve element 12 is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft 13.

The transmission mechanism 14 uses multiple gears to reduce the rotation of the drive motor 15 and transmit it to the drive shaft 13. The transmission mechanism 14 in this embodiment has nine gears 18-26 between the pinion 17 of the drive motor 15 and the drive shaft 13. Of these gears 18-26, a return spring 28 is connected to the rotating shaft 27 of the drive gear 22, which is the fifth gear from the upstream end of the power transmission path, to bias the rotating body that rotates when the transmission mechanism 14 operates in one rotational direction. This rotating body is a gear, a shaft, etc. In Figures 1 and 2, only the exterior of the housing that contains the return spring 28 is shown.

The direction in which the return spring 28 biases the rotor is the direction in which the valve element 12, which is connected to the rotor in an interlocking manner, rotates in the closing direction. Hereinafter, the direction in which the rotor rotates due to the spring force of the return spring 28 is referred to as the "return direction." For this reason, in this actuator 11, when the drive motor 15 is de-energized, the valve element 12 moves to the fully closed position due to the spring force of the return spring 28. The multiple gears 18 to 26 that make up the transmission mechanism 14 rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 (return direction) due to the spring force of the return spring 28.

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

(Description of the drive gear)
The driving gear 22 is a gear that is included in the transmission mechanism 14 and rotates together with the driving shaft 13. The driving gear 22 rotates multiple times when the valve body 12 rotates from a fully closed position, which is one end of the operable range, to a fully open position, which is the other end.
A protrusion 32 that constitutes a part of a lock mechanism 31 (described later) is provided on one axial end face of the drive gear 22. The protrusion 32 in this embodiment is provided on the lower face 22a of the drive gear 22 at one location in the rotation direction of the drive gear 22, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

Although not shown, the protrusion 32 can be provided on the upper surface of the drive gear 22 instead of the lower surface 22a. In this case, the locking mechanism 31 described later is provided above the drive gear 22. The protrusion 32 moves within a moving range A shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 as the drive gear 22 rotates. The locking mechanism 31 can be configured using a gear different from the drive gear 22. For example, when configured using the gear 26 provided on the drive shaft 13, the gear 26 functions as a drive gear, and the protrusions 32 are provided at multiple positions in the rotational direction of the gear 26.

(Description of the locking mechanism)
The lock mechanism uses a switching lever 33 to switch between an unlocked state in which rotation of the drive gear 22 is permitted and a locked state in which rotation of the drive gear 22 is restricted. As shown in Fig. 3, the lock mechanism 31 according to this embodiment has the switching lever 33 located below the drive gear 22, a stopper 34, and an unlocking spring 35.

(Explanation of Switching Lever 33)
In this embodiment, the switching lever 33 is provided on a rotating shaft 36 extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis C of the drive gear 22. The tip of the rotating shaft 36 on the opposite side to the switching lever 33 is formed so as to protrude from the side portion 16a of the case 16 to the outside of the case, as shown in Fig. 1. An operator 37 (see Fig. 1) for operating the switching lever 33 is provided on the tip of the rotating shaft 36. The rotating shaft 36 is rotatably supported on a lower frame 38 (see Fig. 3) of the actuator 11 via a bracket (not shown).

The switching lever 33 moves in and out of the range A of movement of the protrusion 32 from below by rotating together with the rotating shaft 36. That is, the switching lever 33 can rotate between a locked position in which it is within the range of movement of the protrusion 32 as shown in FIG. 3 and an unlocked position in which it is outside the range of movement of the protrusion 32 as shown in FIG. 6. When the switching lever 33 is in the range A of movement of the protrusion 32, the protrusion 32 comes into contact with the switching lever 33 as the driving gear 22 rotates. The axial direction of the rotating shaft 36 is such that when the switching lever 33 is pushed by the protrusion 32 in this way, it rotates around the rotating shaft 36. That is, the switching lever 33 is freely rotatable so that it is pushed and rotated by the protrusion 32 when it is located within the range A of movement of the protrusion 32.

(Stopper explanation)
The stopper 34 is positioned so as to block the path of movement of the switching lever 33 when it moves in a predetermined direction, and is fixed to the lower frame 38. The predetermined direction here refers to the direction in which the switching lever 33, which is in the locked position, rotates as it is pushed by the protrusion 32 when the drive gear 22 rotates in the return direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3). In other words, the stopper 34 restricts the rotation of the switching lever 33, which rotates as it is pushed by the protrusion 32 when the drive gear 22 rotates in the return direction. The rotation of the switching lever 33 is restricted by the stopper 34, and the lock mechanism 31 enters a locked state.

(Explanation of the unlocking spring)
The unlocking spring 35 is a spring that biases the switching lever 33 in a direction (clockwise in FIG. 3) opposite to the direction of rotation when the rotation of the switching lever 33 is restricted by the stopper 34. The spring force of the unlocking spring 35 is smaller than the spring force of the return spring 28. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the unlocking spring 35 according to this embodiment is formed of a torsion coil spring, and is provided between the switching lever 33 and the lower frame 38 with the rotating shaft 36 passing through. However, the unlocking spring 35 may be of any type as long as it can bias the switching lever 33 in a direction away from the stopper 34. The unlocking spring 35 may be formed of a tension coil spring in addition to a torsion coil spring.

(Description of actuator operation)
In the actuator 11 thus configured, when the power supply to the drive motor 15 is cut off while the switching lever 33 is in the unlocked position shown in Figure 6, the valve element 12 moves to the fully closed position by the spring force of the return spring 28. To lock the valve element 12 at a predetermined opening degree thereafter, the rotary shaft 27 is turned in the direction opposite to the return direction using the manual opening/closing operation handle 29 against the spring force of the return spring 28, thereby moving the valve element 12 in the opening direction.

After the valve body 12 reaches a predetermined opening, the switching lever 33 is rotated so as to enter the movement range A of the protrusion 32 as shown in FIG. 3, and the force applied to the manual opening/closing operation handle 29 is released to rotate the drive gear 22 in the return direction by the spring force of the return spring 28. As the drive gear 22 rotates in the return direction, the protrusion 32 pushes the switching lever 33 towards the stopper 34.

The switching lever 33 pushed by the protrusion 32 rotates against the spring force of the unlocking spring 35 until its rotation is restricted by the stopper 34. The rotation of the switching lever 33 is restricted by the stopper 34, causing the drive gear 22 to stop. This drive gear 22 is held in the stopped position by the spring force of the return spring 28. In other words, the valve body 12 is held in a position where it is at a predetermined opening.

When the lock mechanism 31 is in the locked state, the drive gear 22 is driven in the direction opposite to the return direction by the power of the drive motor 15, and the protrusion 32 moves in a direction away from the switch lever 33 and the stopper 34. As a result, the switch lever 33 is pushed in a direction away from the stopper 34 by the spring force of the unlocking spring 35, and as shown in Figure 6, it automatically returns to the initial unlocked position and the lock is automatically released.

(Explanation of Effects of the Embodiments)
In the actuator 11 according to this embodiment, locking can be achieved without using the teeth of the drive gear 22, so that the teeth of the drive gear 22 will not be damaged.
The switching lever 33 can be brought into contact with the protrusion 32 of the drive gear 22 by a simple operation of moving it into the moving range A of the protrusion 32, and there is no need to rotate the drive gear slightly and then return it to its original position to mesh the teeth when locking. This allows for a smooth locking operation and makes the locking operation easy.

Furthermore, since the locking mechanism 31 is configured using the drive gear 22 that rotates multiple times when the valve body 12 moves from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the valve body 12 can be locked at any position.
Furthermore, when the drive gear 22 is driven by the drive motor 15 to rotate in the direction opposite to the return direction, the protrusion 32 disengages from the switch lever 33, and the switch lever 33 automatically returns to the unlocked position by the spring force of the unlock spring 35.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an actuator which does not damage the teeth when locked, can be easily locked at any position, and can be unlocked by motor drive.

In particular, in this embodiment, the rotation of the drive gear 22 is stopped using a protrusion 32 protruding from the drive gear 22 and a switching lever 33 of a simple shape, so that it can be realized at a lower cost than when the rotation is stopped by meshing teeth with each other.
Furthermore, since the protrusion 32 is provided on either the top or bottom of the drive gear 22, the free space below or above the drive gear 22 can be effectively utilized, and the lock mechanism 31 can be realized in a space-saving manner. In more detail, in the opening degree holding mechanism described in Patent Document 2, a separate space for arranging the lock gear must be secured to the side of the gear train, but in this embodiment, the free space above and below the gear train (transmission mechanism 14) can be effectively utilized, so that the space utilization rate can be increased and space can be saved.

The switching lever 33 in this embodiment is provided on a rotating shaft 36 that extends in a direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the axis C of the drive gear 22. Therefore, the operator 37 for operating the switching lever 33 can be provided on the side 16a of the case 16, which provides higher operability than when the operator 37 is provided on the upper or lower surface of the case 16. The actuator 11 may be mounted on a valve or the like inverted upside down. If the operator 37 is provided on the upper surface of the case 16, the operator 37 will be located at the bottom when the case 16 is mounted on a valve or the like in an inverted state, making it difficult to operate. Note that by adopting a configuration in which the rotating shaft 36 penetrates the case 16 in the vertical direction, there are no vertical restrictions on mounting to a valve or the like. However, adopting such a configuration makes the structure complicated.

Second Embodiment
The lock mechanism can be configured as shown in Figures 7 and 8. In these figures, the same or equivalent members as those described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

The driving gear 22 shown in Fig. 7 has a protrusion 32 on an upper surface 22b. The driving gear 22 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R in Fig. 7 (return direction) by the spring force of a return spring (not shown).
The switching lever 33 shown in Fig. 7 is provided on a rotating shaft 41 parallel to the axis C of the drive gear 22, and is disposed at a position at the same height as the protrusion 32. The switching lever 33 is biased by an unlocking spring (not shown) so as to rotate clockwise in Fig. 7 around the rotating shaft 41.

Although not shown in detail, the pivot shaft 41 is attached to one end of the switching lever 33 and is supported so as to be freely rotatable by a stopper 34 that is provided adjacent to the switching lever 33 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the switching lever 33 and the stopper 34 are configured as a so-called hinge 42, and the switching lever 33 is connected to the stopper 34 via the pivot shaft 41 so as to be rotatable relative to the switch lever 33.

The switching lever 33 rotates about the rotation shaft 41 to move between a locked position where it is within the movement range A of the protrusion 32 as shown by a solid line in Fig. 8 and an unlocked position where it is outside the movement range A of the protrusion 32 as shown by a two-dot chain line in Fig. 8. When the switching lever 33 moves to the locked position, it comes into contact with a stopper 34, thereby restricting further rotation.
The rotating shaft 41 is formed so as to protrude from, for example, the upper surface of an actuator case (not shown). An operator (not shown) is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 41.

In this embodiment, as shown by the solid line in Figure 8, when the switching lever 33 moves horizontally and enters the range of movement A of the projection 32, the movement of the projection 32 is restricted by the switching lever 33, and the rotation of the drive gear 22 in the return direction is restricted, resulting in a locked state. On the other hand, when the drive gear 22 rotates in the direction opposite to the return direction due to the power of the drive motor, the switching lever 33 is pushed by the lock release spring and automatically returns to the initial position.

Therefore, in this embodiment too, it is possible to provide an actuator which does not damage the teeth when locked, can be easily locked at any position, and can be unlocked by motor drive.
In particular, by adopting a configuration in which the pivot shaft 41 protrudes above the case 16 as shown in this embodiment, the actuator can be assembled without sacrificing operability, even in a device that is restricted to access only from above.

Third Embodiment
The projections provided on the drive gear can be configured as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In Figures 9 and 10, the same or equivalent members as those explained in Figures 1 to 5 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in Figure 10.

9 and 10, the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 has a groove 51 that opens downward. The groove 51 can also be formed on the upper surface 22b of the drive gear 22. In that case, the switching lever 33 is disposed above the drive gear 22. As shown in FIG. 10, the groove 51 extends in the circumferential direction of the drive gear 22 except for a strip-shaped protrusion 52 that extends from the center of the drive gear 22 to the outer periphery. The lower surface 52a of the protrusion 52 is positioned on the same plane as the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22. By forming the groove 51 on the lower surface 22a of the drive gear 22 in this way, the protrusion 52 is protruded from the axial end surface of the drive gear 22. The space inside the groove 51 becomes the movement range A of the protrusion 52 when the protrusion 32 moves with the rotation of the drive gear 22.

When this embodiment is adopted, the switching lever 33 is provided on a rotating shaft 36 perpendicular to the axis C of the driving gear 22, and is configured to move in and out of the groove 51 as the rotating shaft 36 rotates. That is, as shown by the solid line in Figure 9, when the switching lever 33 is in the groove 51, the driving gear 22 rotates in the return direction, so that the protrusion 52 pushes the switching lever 33 against the stopper 34, thereby entering a locked state.
Furthermore, when in the locked state, the driving gear 22 rotates in the direction opposite to the return direction by the power of the motor, so that the switching lever 33 is pushed by the lock release spring and automatically returns to the initial position.

Therefore, in this embodiment too, it is possible to provide an actuator which does not damage the teeth when locked, can be easily locked at any position, and can be unlocked by motor drive.
In particular, in this embodiment, since the projection 52 does not protrude downward (or upward) from the drive gear 22, it is possible to realize a compact locking mechanism in the axial direction (up-down direction) of the drive gear 22. Furthermore, even if a part of another gear 53 (see FIG. 9) of the transmission mechanism is caused to protrude near the lower surface 22a or the upper surface 22b of the drive gear 22, this other gear 53 does not interfere with the projection 52 that moves with the rotation of the drive gear 22. Therefore, together with the compact locking mechanism as described above, it is possible to further reduce the size of the actuator.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example has been shown in which the present invention is applied to an actuator for an electric valve. However, the present invention is not limited to such a limitation and can be applied to devices that control fluids in general. In other words, the present invention can be applied to any actuator that rotates a rotary drive shaft, and can also be applied to an actuator for an electric damper installed in an air conditioning duct, for example.

11...actuator, 12...valve body (driven part), 13...drive shaft, 14...transmission mechanism, 15...driving motor, 22...driving gear, 27...rotating shaft, 28...return spring, 31...locking mechanism, 32...projection, 33...switching lever, 34...stopper, 36, 41...rotating shaft, A...movement range.

Claims (4)

A drive shaft that rotates and drives a driven part;
a drive motor connected to the drive shaft via a transmission mechanism;
a driving gear included in the transmission mechanism and rotating together with the drive shaft;
a return spring that biases a rotor included in the transmission mechanism in a return direction that is one of the rotation directions;
a protrusion provided on an axial end surface of the driving gear;
a lock mechanism having a switching lever that enters and exits a range of movement of the protrusion when the protrusion moves in association with the rotation of the drive gear, and that switches between an unlocked state in which the rotation of the drive gear is permitted and a locked state in which the rotation of the drive gear in the return direction is restricted,
the switching lever is rotatable so as to be rotated by being pushed by the protrusion when the switching lever is located within a moving range of the protrusion,
The locking mechanism includes:
a stopper that restricts the rotation of the switching lever, which is pushed and rotated by the protrusion when the driving gear rotates in the return direction;
a lock release spring that biases the switching lever in a direction opposite to a rotation direction when the rotation is restricted by the stopper,
The actuator is characterized in that the rotation of the switching lever is restricted by the stopper, thereby bringing the switching lever into the locked state. 2. The actuator according to claim 1,
An actuator, wherein the driving gear rotates a number of times as the driven component rotates from one end to the other end of an operable range. 3. The actuator according to claim 1,
The actuator, wherein the switching lever is provided on a rotary shaft that extends in a direction intersecting with an axis of the drive gear. 3. The actuator according to claim 1,
The switching lever is
An actuator, characterized in that it is provided on a rotation shaft parallel to the axis of the driving gear.

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