JPH02274216A - Damper device and open/close device for seat using same damper device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To utilize the characteristics of an air damper and enable the augmentation of the braking force thereof by building a conversion means into a cylinder for converting rotary motion to the reciprocal linear motion of a piston via the air damper, and building a gear mechanism in the cylinder. CONSTITUTION:When a seat 4 is turned toward a user, a rotary shaft 8 turns in a reverse direction, and a piston 11 shifts to a compression direction. As a result, an air flow through a vent hole 20 is interrupted. Air in the forward chamber (a) of a cylinder 9, therefore, flows into the rear chamber (b) due to throttling with the orifice 17 of the piston 11, and braking force works during the air flow. Also, when the piston 11 moves to a compression direction, a coil spring 21 is compressed and a reaction force therefrom works to augment the braking force. Furthermore, the braking force is amplified via a gear mechanism and transmitted to the rotary shaft 8. In addition, as the internal gear of a cap 10 is fixed and a cam 41 is hard to turn due to torque loaded from the braking force, there is generated friction torque between the external surface of the projection shaft 42 of a rotor 12 and the axial hole internal surface of a planetary gear 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a damper device and a toilet seat opening/closing device using the damper device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of damper uses a cylinder-type air damper or a brake drum (for example, the
2-37975) and cylinder-type oil dampers (for example, JP-A-63-38423, JP-A-63
38424), a rotary oil damper (for example, JP-A-63-13927), and toilet seat opening/closing devices using these dampers.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with conventional cylinder-type dampers, a separate conversion means must be installed to convert the rotational motion of the toilet seat, etc. into the reciprocating linear motion of the piston, which requires design and There was a problem in that not only was assembly troublesome, but the piston protruded from inside the cylinder to the outside, making it difficult to secure a space for its installation.

On the other hand, when a brake drum or a rotary oil damper is used, there is an advantage that it can be directly connected to the rotating shaft of the toilet seat.

However, when a brake drum or a rotary oil damper is used, there is a problem in that damper torque is generated in both forward and reverse directions.

In other words, if a brake drum or rotary oil damper is connected to the rotating shaft of the toilet seat, braking force will be applied even when the toilet seat is opened by hand, making it impossible to open the toilet seat quickly and easily. was there.

Of course, it is possible to provide a clutch mechanism in the middle so that the torque is not transmitted in the opening direction of one toilet seat, but this poses a problem in that the mechanism becomes complicated and assembly becomes troublesome.

In addition, brake drums and rotary oil dampers both have a constant torque, so if they are used on a toilet seat, etc., the braking force will work from the beginning of closing the toilet seat, causing the toilet seat to close quickly and naturally. The problem was that there was no.

That is, to a certain extent, it is faster and more natural for the toilet seat to close quickly and close slowly just before it hits the top surface of the toilet bowl.

In this respect, a cylinder-type air damper whose braking force gradually increases is most suitable.

Therefore, the present invention uses an air damper and incorporates a conversion means for converting rotational motion into reciprocating linear motion of a piston into the cylinder, and also incorporates a gear mechanism for the purpose of expanding the braking force of the air damper. It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a damper device suitable for a toilet seat opening/closing device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the present invention is aimed at achieving the above object, and the contents thereof will be explained below using embodiments shown in the drawings.

The damper device according to claim 1 includes a cylinder (9) and a cylinder (9).
A cap (10) that is attached to the open end, a piston (11) that reciprocates within the cylinder, and a rotor (12) that is pivotally supported by the cap and rotates within the cylinder. , conversion means (for example, the transmission cam 32 and the piston cam 34, etc.) that is interposed between the piston and the rotor and converts the rotary motion of the rotor into reciprocating motion of the piston.
and a gear mechanism (such as a planetary gear 40) housed in the cylinder, interposed between the rotor and the converting means, and increasing the rotational speed of the rotor and transmitting the increased rotational speed to the converting means. The damper device according to claim 2 is characterized in that a coil spring (21) for biasing the piston (11) toward the open end of the cylinder is housed in the cylinder (9). The toilet seat opening/closing device has a cylinder (9) fixed to one of the toilet bowl body (2) and the toilet seat (4) (for example, the toilet bowl body 2), and a rotor (12) to the other (for example, the rotating shaft 8 of the toilet seat 4). ) are connected so that the rotor rotates relatively within the cylinder as the toilet seat opens and closes.

[Function] According to the damper device according to claim 1, the gear mechanism (4
0) allows the damper torque to be expanded.

According to the damper device according to claim 2, the coil spring (
21) allows the braking force in the compression process of the piston (11) to be increased.

According to the toilet seat opening/closing device according to claim 3, the piston (
In the compression step 11), since the braking force gradually increases, the toilet seat (4) can be closed gradually and slowly.

[Example] The present invention will be described below based on an example shown in the drawings.

In Figures 2 and 3, 1 indicates a seat-type toilet;
It consists of a toilet base main body 2 and a toilet seat 5 which is pivotally connected to the upper surface of the toilet main body 2 by a pair of hinge devices 3, so that it can be opened and closed upwardly. A damper device 5 is installed to prevent closing.

As shown in FIG.
A pair of bearing parts 6.6 projecting upward from the top surface, and a pair of arm parts 7 corresponding to each bearing part 6 and extending from the base end of the toilet seat 4.
, 7, by stacking the corresponding bearing parts 6 and arm parts 7 sideways, and passing the bottle-shaped rotating shafts 8, 8 in series from the side.
The toilet seat 4 rotates together with the rotating shaft 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, the damper device 5 includes a cylinder 9, a cap 10 attached to the open end of the cylinder, a piston 11 that reciprocates within the cylinder 9, and the cap 1.
a rotor 12 that is pivotally supported by the cylinder 9 and rotates within the cylinder 9;
A piston 11 and a rotor 12 are housed in the cylinder.
A converting means interposed between the rotor 12 and the converting means for converting the rotational motion of the rotor 12 into a reciprocating motion of the piston 11;
A gear mechanism is provided for increasing the rotational speed of No. 2 and transmitting the increased rotational speed to the converting means.

The cylinder 9 and the cap 1O are each made of plastic molded products, and have a one-touch connecting means between them, and in this case, a pair of claws 13. 13, and elastic pieces 14, 14 are provided at the open end of the cap IO at positions corresponding to the claws 13, and each elastic piece 14 has locking holes 14', 14' into which the claws 13 fit. will be established. The elastic piece 14 is
Using its elasticity, the winter melon 13 is fitted into the locking hole 14', and the cap lO is prevented from being removed and rotated (6th
．． Figure 8).

The piston 11 is connected to the cylinder 9 as shown in FIG.
An annular piston body 15 whose inside is divided into a front chamber a on the cylinder head side and a rear chamber on the open end side, and a hollow piston rod 1 extending axially rearward from the piston body 15.
6, the closed side wall 111 of the piston rod 16
An orifice 17 is provided at i' and integrally molded with plastic, for example (FIG. 4).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the piston body 15 includes:
It has a ring groove 1g into which the O-ring 18 is fitted, and the groove width of this ring 11119 is wider than the diameter of the cross-section of the O-ring 1, and the front edge of the bottom of the ring groove 19 has a through hole 20 penetrating inside and outside. will be established. When the piston 11 is pushed into the cylinder 9, the through hole 20 is opened as shown in FIG.
When the O-ring 18 is blocked by the ring 18 and moves in the opposite direction, the O-ring 18 moves forward in the ring groove 19 due to friction with the inner periphery of the cylinder 9 and closes the outer periphery of the through hole 20, as shown in FIG. Because it is located in.

Air in the rear chamber a flows into the front chamber a at once through the gap between the O-ring 18 and the through hole 20 and the orifice 17. Therefore, the braking force acts only in the direction of compression of the piston 11, and a so-called one-way effect can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 4, a coil spring 21 is housed in the cylinder 9 between the cylinder 9 and the piston 11 to bias the piston 11 toward the open end of the cylinder 9. This coil spring 21 is compressed between the bottom of the cylinder 9 and the piston 11, and is used for the purpose of increasing the braking force during the compression process of the piston 11 and smoothing the extension process of the piston 11 (7).

Note that instead of compressing the coil spring 21, its tension may be used to urge the piston 11 toward the open end of the cylinder 9.

Further, the spring force of the coil spring 21 can be varied by the screw 22.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, a post 23 is provided protruding from the center of the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylinder 9, and a screw hole 24 is provided in the post 23, penetrating both inside and outside (FIG. 4). Further, in the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a spacer that is fitted onto the coil spring 21, and a relatively large-diameter flange 25a is provided at the bottom of the spacer.
There is a large-diameter fitting part 25b into which 3 fits perfectly, and a relatively small-diameter cylinder 9 that is concentric with the fitting part 25b behind it.
A blind hole 25c is provided into which the tip of the screw 22 screwed through the screw hole 24 is fitted.

The coil spring 21 has one end fitted into the outer periphery of the spacer 25, the other end inserted into the hollow interior of the piston 11, and compressed between the flange 25a of the spacer 25 and the inner surface of the side wall 16' of the piston 11. The spring load of the coil spring 21 is set to such an extent that the piston 11 reciprocates within the cylinder 9.

In this way, when the screw 22 is screwed in, the spacer 25 is separated from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylinder 9, and the flange 25 of the spacer 25 is separated from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylinder 9.
By narrowing the distance between a and the inner surface of the side wall 16' of the piston 11, the biasing force of the coil spring 21 increases, and the braking force during the expansion and contraction process of the piston 11 increases.
When loosened, the spacer 25 approaches the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylinder 9, eventually reducing the braking force.

As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 26 is provided in the center of the cap 10 for inserting the rotating shaft 8 of the toilet seat 4, and around this opening 26 there are two protruding edges 27 that protrude outward. to protrude.

The rotor 12 is made of metal, and has a fitting hole 2B having a non-circular shape, for example an oval shape, in the center thereof, into which the tip 8' having a non-circular cross section, for example an oval cross section, of the rotating shaft 8 of the toilet seat 4 is fitted. A circular raised portion 29 is provided on the surface facing the cap 10, which is circularly raised around the insertion hole 2, and fits snugly into the protrusion 27 of the cap 10.

Then, by fitting the protruding portion 29 of the rotor 12 into the protrusion 27 of the cap 10 from the inside, and fitting the distal end 8' of the rotating shaft 8 from the outside of the cap 10 by aligning it with the fitting hole 28, the rotor 12 is fitted into the cylinder. 9 and rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 8.

Incidentally, on the inner surface of the cap 10, as shown in FIG.
Hemispherical protrusions 30 are provided annularly at appropriate intervals to reduce frictional resistance with the rotor 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the converting means is a cylindrical transmission cam 32 having three thread grooves 31 carved on its outer periphery. It consists of a cylindrical piston cam 34 that has three tracing teeth 33 on its inner periphery and fits around the outer periphery of the transmission cam 32, and the transmission cam 32 and the piston 34 are each molded from plastic. figure).

Note that the thread groove 31 may be provided on the inner circumference of the piston cam 34 and the teeth 33 that fit thereon may be provided on the outer circumference of the transmission cam a2. This is to ensure smooth movement, and the number of thread grooves 31 may be two or less, or four or more.

The transmission cam 32 is connected to the rotor 12 via a gear mechanism as described later. The thread groove 31 of the transmission cam 32 has an inclination angle of about 30° to allow the piston cam 34 to reciprocate 3011 degrees.

Further, the piston cam 34 moves the piston 11 inside the cylinder 9.
It moves back and forth as one. And, in the piston cam 34,
A plurality of elastic claws 35 are provided on the front edge of the piston 1.
1 is provided with an annular groove 36 into which the elastic claw 35 is fitted, and the elastic claw 35 is fitted into the annular groove 36 by utilizing its elasticity (FIG. 4).

Between the outer circumference of the piston cam 34 and the inner circumference of the cylinder 9, as shown in FIG. Provided for each. In the embodiment shown in the drawings:
A pair of recesses 37 , 37 are provided on the inner periphery of the cylinder 9 so as to face each other and are open and extend in the shape of a groove along the moving direction of the piston cam 34 . .

A convex portion 38 extending radially outward and moving along the concave portion 37 into which the four portions 37 fit is provided (FIG. 4-6).

The gear mechanism has a planetary structure and is used for speed increase.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gear mechanism includes an internal gear 39 provided on the inner periphery of the cap IO, a plurality of planetary gears 40 that mesh with the internal gear 39, and a plurality of planetary gears 40 that mesh with the planetary gear 40 and transmit transmission. It is composed of a cam gear 41 that rotates together with the cam 32, and each of the gears 39 to 41 is made of metal.

The planetary gears 40 are each supported by protruding shafts 42 protruding from a surface of the rotor 12 opposite to the surface having the raised portion 29. The protruding shaft 42 is annularly arranged at predetermined intervals, for example, 72
Five planetary gears 40 are installed at intervals of 5 degrees (Fig. 5).

The cam gear 41 is provided with a substantially cross-shaped key projection 43 on the surface facing the transmission cam 32, and the transmission cam 32 is provided with a cross-shaped key groove 44 into which the key projection 43 of the cam gear 41 is fitted. 5 so as to rotate together with the transmission cam 32. In addition, conversely, the keyway 44 is formed in the cam gear 41, and the transmission cam 3
2 may be provided with a key protrusion 43.

As shown in FIG. 3, the damper device 5 in the assembled state having the above-mentioned configuration is attached to the toilet bowl main body using the mounting bracket 45.
At the same time, the rotating shaft 8 is passed from the arm 7 of the toilet seat 4 to the bearing 6 of the toilet main body 2, and its tip 8' is inserted into the rotor 1 inside the cylinder 9 through the opening 26 of the cap 1G.
It is inserted into the insertion hole 28 of No. 2 and locked.

In addition, in FIG. 2, 46 is a lid supported coaxially with the toilet seat 4, and the lid 46 is rotatably supported on the rotating shaft 8, so that it can be opened and closed separately from the toilet seat 4, and no damper torque is applied. , 47 is a water storage tank, and the maximum opening position of the toilet seat 4 is regulated at a position where the toilet seat 4 is leaning against the water storage tank 47.

Next, to explain how the toilet seat 4 is used, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to open the closed toilet seat 4, it is sufficient to hold the toilet seat 4 and lift it upward.

When the toilet seat 4 is lifted, the rotating shaft 8 rotates, and the rotor 12 rotates in the cylinder 9 together with this.

When the rotor 12 rotates, as shown in FIG. 5, since the planetary gear 40 supported by the protruding shaft 42 is meshed with the inner gear 39 of the cap 10, the planetary gear 4o rotates and the planetary gear 4o rotates. The meshing cam gear 41 is aligned in the same direction as the rotating shaft 8,
It also rotates at twice the speed.

In this way, when the cam gear 41 rotates, the fifth transmission cam 32 also rotates together. Note that the direction of rotation of the rotating shaft 8 when opening the toilet seat 4 is made to match the direction in which the thread groove 31 of the transmission cam 32 is cut. When the transmission cam 32 rotates, its thread groove 3
1, the teeth 33 of the piston cam 34 mesh with the piston cam 34, and since the piston cam 34 is prevented from rotating by the concave and convex portions 37 and 38 between it and the cylinder 9, the piston cam 34 retreats along the concave portion 37 of the cylinder 9. .

When the piston cam 34 retreats, the piston 11 follows this and moves in the extension direction toward the open end of the cylinder 9. When the piston 11 moves in the extension direction, the O-ring 1
8 moves forward in the ring groove 19 due to friction with the inner periphery of the cylinder 9 and is positioned at the outer periphery of the through hole 20. Therefore, the air in the rear chamber flows through the gap between the O ring 18 and the through hole 20 and the orifice 17. and flows all at once into the anterior chamber a (Fig. 8).

Therefore, no braking force is applied during the extension process of the piston 11, and the toilet seat 4 can be opened relatively easily and quickly.

On the other hand, in order to close the open toilet seat 4, the toilet seat 4 may be rotated toward the user.

When the toilet seat 4 is rotated toward the user, the one-rotation shaft 8 rotates in the opposite direction, and the piston 11 moves in the compression direction.

Therefore, the O-ring 18 retreats in the ring groove 19 due to friction with the inner periphery of the cylinder 9, and the flow of air through the through hole 20 is blocked (FIG. 3).
In the compression process of the piston 11, the air in the front chamber a of the cylinder 9 is throttled by the orifice 17 of the piston 11 and flows into the rear chamber, and at this time the braking force is increased.

Further, when the piston 11 moves in the compression direction, the coil spring 21. The iL ratio is compressed, and the braking force is expanded by the reaction force at that time.

Then, the braking force is amplified through the gear mechanism and the rotating shaft 8
transmitted to.

In addition, since the inner gear 39 of the cap 10 is fixed and the cam gear 41 becomes difficult to rotate due to the load torque caused by the braking force, the outer periphery of the protruding shaft 42 of the rotor 12 and the inner periphery of the shaft hole of the planetary gear 40 are Frictional torque is generated between the two.

Therefore, when the maximum moment borne by the rotating shaft 8 is M, the sum of the braking force by the piston 11, the reaction force of the coil spring 21, and the friction torque of the gear mechanism is only I.

Therefore, the first toilet seat 4 closes relatively slowly and quietly due to the damper torque.

Furthermore, at the beginning of the compression process, the piston 11 simply compresses the air in the front chamber a in the cylinder 9.
Braking force is weak and gradually increases. Therefore, when closing the toilet seat 4, the braking force is weak, so the toilet seat 4 can be closed with a relatively light force. In addition, at the initial stage when the toilet seat 4 closes under its own weight, the braking force by the damper device 5 is weak, so the toilet seat 4 closes relatively quickly. When it hits, it closes slowly and quietly.

Also, since the piston 11 has an orifice 17, it is quieter than the type that takes in outside air.
Moreover, a highly reliable damper device 5 can be provided.

Although the maximum open position is regulated at the position where the toilet seat 4 is leaning against the storage tank 47, for example, by adjusting the spring force of the coil spring 21 with the screw 22, etc., the damper torque on the damper side and the rotating shaft 8 of the toilet seat 4 can be adjusted. By balancing the burden torque acting on the toilet seat 4 with the damper device 5
It is also possible to make it independent.

Further, the damper device 5 alone can be used not only as an opening/closing device for the toilet seat 4 but also in a wide range of damper devices 5 for rotating bodies such as laptop-type microcomputers and displays such as word processors.

On the other hand, regarding one toilet l, the torque of the damper device 5 is large, so only one damper device 5 was used, but it is also possible to reduce the torque of the damper device 5 and use two. Although the damper torque is not applied to the toilet seat 46, another lid damper device may be added so that the lid 46 closes slowly and quietly independently of the toilet seat 4.

Furthermore, the damper torque can be increased or decreased by varying the conversion rate of the conversion means, the gear ratio of the gear mechanism, or the friction torque.

That is, when the inclination angle of the thread groove 31 of the transmission cam 32 is made steeper, the amount of movement of the piston 11 becomes larger when the gear ratio of the gear mechanism is kept constant, so that the damping force increases. When the thread groove 31 has a steep angle, the friction torque between the thread groove 31 of the transmission cam 32 and the teeth 33 of the piston cam 34 also increases. Therefore, the total damper torque increases.

Incidentally, the friction torque between the thread groove 31 and the teeth 33 is
Since the damper torque can be easily varied by changing the friction coefficient without changing the inclination angle of the damper, the damper torque can be increased by actively utilizing the friction torque.

Of course, when the transmission cam 32 and the piston cam 34 are molded from plastic as in the embodiment shown in the drawings, if the friction torque is too large, there is a risk of damaging the thread groove 31 and the teeth 33. The friction torque is set in consideration of the relationship between the thread groove 31 and the strength of the teeth 3a.

On the contrary, if the inclination angle of the thread groove 31 of the transmission cam 32 is made gentler, the amount of movement of the piston 11 becomes smaller, the damping force is reduced, and the friction torque between the thread groove 31 and the teeth 33 is also reduced, which reduces the damper. Torque decreases.

Furthermore, when the gear ratio of the gear mechanism is varied, the generated damper torque increases or decreases.

That is, compared to the embodiment shown in the drawings, if the speed ratio between the rotor 12 and the cam gear 41 is increased, the damper torque will be increased, and if the speed ratio is decreased, the damper torque will be decreased.

Further, even if the coefficient of friction between the outer periphery of the protruding shaft 42 of the rotor 12 and the inner periphery of the shaft hole of the planetary gear 4° is varied, the damper torque increases or decreases.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it produces the following effects.

According to the damper device according to the first aspect, it is possible to provide a high-torque damper device that takes advantage of the characteristics of an air damper.

According to the damper device according to the second aspect, the damper torque can be further increased.

According to the toilet seat opening/closing device according to the third aspect, it is possible to provide a toilet seat opening/closing device using a damper device suitable for the opening/closing movement of one toilet seat.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the toilet bowl, Fig. 3 is a partial plan view of the toilet bowl, and Fig. 4 is an assembled damper device. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the extended state of the piston.
6 is a sectional view taken along the line Vl-Vl in FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 4,
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the compressed state of the piston. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Toilet bowl, 2... Toilet main body, 3... Hinge device, 4... Toilet seat, 5... Damper device, 8... Rotating shaft, 9... Cylinder, lO... Cap, 11...
・Piston, 12... Rotor, 17... Orifice, 21... Coil spring, 31... Thread groove, 32...
・Transmission cam, 33...teeth, 34...piston cam,
39... Inner gear of the cap, 40... Planetary gear, 4
1... Cam gear, 42... Rotor protruding shaft, 46...
・Toilet lid, 47...Storage tank.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A cylinder, a cap attached to the open end of the cylinder,
a piston that reciprocates within the cylinder; a rotor that is pivotally supported by the cap and rotates within the cylinder; and a gear mechanism housed in the cylinder, interposed between the rotor and the converting means, and increasing the rotational speed of the rotor and transmitting the increased rotational speed to the converting means. (2) The damper device according to claim (1), wherein the cylinder houses a coil spring that biases the piston toward the open end of the cylinder. (3) In a toilet having a toilet body and a toilet seat pivotably attached to the top surface of the toilet body so that it can be opened and closed, a cylinder is fixed to either the toilet body or the toilet seat, and a rotor is connected to the other. A toilet seat opening/closing device using a damper device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotor rotates relatively within the cylinder as the toilet seat opens and closes.