JPH08101711A - Actuator driving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the actuator driving device which can easily find an operation defective place if an actuator operates defectively. CONSTITUTION: A gate switching device 1 is equipped with a gate 10 which switches the conveyance path of a copying machine, a solenoid 2 which drives the gate 10, and a driver which 4 supplies an operating current to the solenoid 2. The normal operation of the gate 10 is detected by a sensor 12 and a CPU 20 judges a defect in the operation of the device 1 unless the sensor 12 detects the normal operation of the gate 10. In this case, a detector 8 detects a current and an operation defect of the circuit system of the solenoid 2 is decided unless the current flows. Further, a decision part 30 compares the fall time T of the detected current with a reference time T0 prepared in a memory 36; when the fall times T and T0 match each other, a defect of the sensor 12 is decided and when not, a defect of the driving system of the solenoid 2 is decided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an actuator drive device for driving a mechanical mechanism by an actuator such as an electrically operated solenoid or pulse motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a drive device which is operated by a current supplied from a driver and drives a mechanical mechanism by this power, an actuator drive device including an actuator such as a solenoid or a pulse motor is known.

As an actuator drive device, for example,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a gate drive device that drives a switching gate that switches a conveyance path of papers supplied to a copying machine. This gate drive device has a solenoid as an actuator,
This solenoid is connected to the switching gate via a link mechanism or the like. Then, the solenoid is operated by the drive current supplied from the driver, and switches the switching gate to a desired position. A sensor for detecting the operation of the switching gate is provided near the switching gate, and the sensor detects whether the switching gate has been switched to a predetermined position.

When the sensor does not detect the normal operation of the switching gate, whether there is a malfunction in each of the driver that supplies current to the solenoid, the wiring that connects the driver and the solenoid, the solenoid, the gate, and the sensor. The malfunctioning part was identified by individually investigating.

[0005]

However, in the conventional actuator drive device, it is necessary to investigate the cause of the defect in all the members constituting the drive device according to the detection of the operation failure, and it is troublesome to specify the defective portion. There is a problem that takes.

Further, when carrying out maintenance of the drive unit, it is troublesome to check whether or not each member has a malfunction. The present invention
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an actuator drive device that can easily find a location causing a malfunction when the actuator malfunctions.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an actuator drive device according to the present invention comprises a supply means for supplying a current, an actuator operated by a current supplied from the supply means, and the actuator. A drive mechanism driven by a sensor, a sensor for detecting the operation of the drive mechanism, a detection means for detecting a current supplied from the supply means to the actuator, and a case where the sensor does not detect the operation of the drive mechanism. , Comparing the waveform of the current detected by the detection means with a predetermined reference waveform, and when the two waveforms match, it is determined that the sensor is defective, and when the two waveforms are different, at least one of the actuator and the drive mechanism Determination means for determining a defect,
It has.

Further, the actuator driving device according to the present invention electrically connects the supply means for supplying the current, the actuator operated by the current supplied from the supply means, and the supply means and the actuator. Wiring, a drive mechanism driven by the actuator, a sensor that detects the operation of the drive mechanism, a detection unit that detects the current supplied from the supply unit to the actuator, and the detection unit does not detect the current. In this case, when at least one of the supply means, the wiring, and the actuator is defective, the detection means detects a current and the sensor does not detect the operation of the drive mechanism, the detection means detects the operation. Comparing the current waveform with a predetermined reference waveform, if both waveforms match, determine the sensor is defective, Waveform and a, a determination unit configured to determine at least one of failure of the actuator and drive mechanism when different.

[0009]

When operating the actuator drive device according to the present invention, a current is supplied from the supply means to the actuator through the wiring. The actuator is actuated by this current to drive the drive mechanism. Then, the sensor detects whether or not the drive mechanism is normally driven.

When the sensor does not detect the normal driving of the drive mechanism, the detecting means detects the current flowing from the supplying means to the actuator, and the judging means compares the waveform of this current with a predetermined reference waveform. As a result of this comparison, when the two waveforms match, it is determined that the sensor is defective, and when the two waveforms are different, at least one of the actuator and the drive mechanism is defective.

Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the judging means includes a comparing means, and the comparing means sets the time from the start of the supply of the current by the supply means to the fall of the current as a predetermined reference time. By comparing, when both times match, malfunction of the sensor is determined, and when both times do not match, malfunction of at least one of the actuator and the drive mechanism is determined.

By thus checking the waveform of the current supplied to the actuator and comparing it with the normal waveform, it is possible to easily find the location causing the malfunction when the actuator malfunctions.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The actuator drive device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to, for example, a gate switching device for switching a transport path for papers supplied to a copying machine to a desired position.

As shown in FIG. 1, a gate switching device 1
Is disposed in the vicinity of the branch point of the transport path of a copying machine (not shown), and is a switching gate 10 as a drive mechanism that switches the transport path so as to guide the paper in a desired direction, and the switching gate 10 is rotated to a desired position. A solenoid 2 as a moving actuator and a driver 4 as a supply means for supplying a drive current to the solenoid 2 are provided. The solenoid 2 and the driver 4 are electrically connected via a wiring 6, and a detector 8 as a detection means for detecting a current flowing through the wiring 6 is provided in the middle of the wiring 6.

The switching gate 10 is connected to the solenoid 2 via a support member 3. That is, the supporting member 3 is fixed to the base end portion of the switching gate 10 in a substantially L shape, and the connecting portion is pivotally supported at a predetermined position with respect to the housing (not shown) through the supporting rod 3b. Has been done. The other end of the support member 3 is rotatably connected to the solenoid 2 via a connecting rod 3a. Also,
The other end of the tension spring 5, one end of which is fixed to the housing, is fixed to the connecting rod 3a. Therefore, when the solenoid 2 is turned on, the switching gate 10 is rotated clockwise to be switched to the first position shown by the solid line, and when the solenoid 2 is turned off, the switching spring 10 is turned counterclockwise by the action of the tension spring 5. It is rotated and switched to the second position shown by the broken line. As a result, the switching gate 10 is
Further, it is possible to selectively switch to the second position, and it is possible to switch the transport path in a desired direction.

Near the first position of the switching gate 10,
A sensor 12 for detecting the operation of the switching gate 10 is provided. That is, the sensor 12 is arranged to detect the tip of the switching gate 10 when the solenoid 2 is turned on and the switching gate 10 is rotated to the first position.

Sensor 12, driver 4, and detector 8
Are connected to the CPU 20 which controls these operations. Further, the CPU 20 is connected with a display unit 21 for displaying a defective operation location and the like.

Further, the gate switching device 1 is provided with a judging section 30 as a judging means for judging a defective operation portion when the gate switching device 1 malfunctions. The determination unit 30 includes a timer 32 that measures the time from the start of supplying the operating current to the fall of the operating current, a waveform monitoring unit 34 that monitors the waveform of the current detected by the detector 8, and a memory 36 that stores the reference waveform. , And the CPU 20 are connected to each other. Further, the driver 32 is connected to the timer 32, and the detector 8 is connected to the waveform monitoring unit 34.

The operation of the gate switching device 1 configured as described above will be described below. When the switching gate 10 is switched to the first position according to the paper conveyance rule,
The CPU 20 generates a gate switching command for the driver 4 and simultaneously generates a current detection command for the detector 8. The driver 4 supplies an operating current to the solenoid 2 in response to the gate switching command, and simultaneously activates the timer 32. On the other hand, the detector 8 detects the operating current flowing through the wiring 6 according to the current detection command and supplies the operating current to the waveform monitoring unit 34.

The waveform monitoring section 34 prepares a waveform of the supplied operating current and inputs this waveform to the judging section 30. Then, the determination unit 30 compares this waveform with a predetermined waveform recorded in the memory 36, and when a malfunction occurs in the gate switching device 1, identifies the malfunctioning portion of the gate switching device 1. In the present embodiment, the waveform monitoring unit 34 monitors the trailing edge of the supplied operating current because a simple method of comparing the time from the current supply to the trailing edge is used as the waveform comparison method. Then, the falling signal corresponding to this falling is input to the determination unit 30.

The determination unit 30 issues a stop command to the timer 32 at the same time as receiving the falling signal from the waveform monitoring unit 34, and the operation time of the timer 32, that is, from the start of the supply of the operation current to the fall of the operation current. The time T of is taken from the timer 32. Then, the determination unit 30 takes in a predetermined reference time T0 recorded in the memory 36 and compares it with the time T to determine the defective operation portion of the gate switching device 1.

The fall of the current depends on the operating state of the solenoid or the switching gate 10 connected to the solenoid 2.
And the support member 3 and the like are driven. That is,
When these drive mechanisms have malfunctions, the current fall time changes compared to the current fall during normal operation. For example, when the solenoid 2 malfunctions and the solenoid 2 is driven only halfway, the fall of the current is slightly faster than in the normal state (solid line) as shown by the broken line in FIG. The reference time T0 is prepared in advance by measuring the time from when the operating current is supplied to the normally operating gate switching device until the current falls.

On the other hand, the solenoid 2 to which the operating current is supplied
Is operated (turned on) by this operation current, and the switching gate 10 is rotated to the first position. When the switching gate 10 is rotated to the first position, the tip of the switching gate 10 is detected by the sensor 12, and this detection signal is input to the CPU 20. In this manner, the CPU 20 confirms that the transfer path switching operation has been normally performed by receiving the detection signal from the sensor 12 at the same time when the gate switching command is issued to the driver 4.

Further, if a malfunction occurs at a part of the gate switching device 1 and, as a result, the switching gate 10 cannot be normally switched to the first switching position, the switching gate 10 is not operated.
Is not detected by the sensor 12. In this case, since the gate switching command is issued to the driver 4 and the detection signal from the sensor 12 cannot be received at the same time, the CPU 20 determines the malfunction of the gate switching device 1.

In this way, when the CPU 20 determines that the gate switching device 1 is malfunctioning, the CPU 20 fetches the determination result of the malfunctioning portion from the determination unit 30, outputs the determination result to the display unit 21, and outputs the gate switching device. The defective operation point 1 is displayed on the display unit 21.

Hereinafter, a method of determining a malfunctioning portion in the determination unit 30 will be described. The determination unit 30 includes the CPU 20.
The fall time of the operating current from the driver 4 is constantly compared with a predetermined fall time in response to the gate switching command from. If the sensor 12 does not detect the operation of the switching gate 10, the CPU 20 causes the gate switching device 1 to operate.
The malfunction of the gate switching device 1 is displayed by taking in the comparison result in the determination unit 30.

In FIG. 3, the CPU 20 has the gate switching device 1
6 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining a defective operation portion by the determination unit 30 when the defective operation is determined. First, when the CPU 20 issues a gate switching command and a current detection command is issued to the detector 8, the detector 8 detects the current flowing through the wiring 6, as shown in step 41. Then, the determination unit 30 confirms the presence or absence of current. When the detector 8 does not detect the current, that is, when the current does not flow in the wiring 6, the determination unit 30 determines that the step 4
As shown in FIG. 2, at least one malfunction of the driver 4, the wiring 6, and the solenoid 2, that is, malfunction of the drive circuit system of the solenoid is determined.

On the other hand, when a current is flowing through the detector 8, as shown in step 43, the determination unit 30 measures the time T until the fall of the operating current, and this fall time T
The reference fall time T0 supplied from the memory 36 is compared. If T and T0 coincide with each other, it can be determined that the switching gate 10 is operating normally.
If T and T0 do not coincide with each other, as shown in step 45, a malfunction occurs in the drive mechanism of the solenoid 2, the switching gate 10, and the supporting member 3 and other switching gates 10. Determine that Then, these determination results are input to the CPU 20.

As shown in step 46, the CPU 20 displays these determination results on the display unit 21 in accordance with the malfunction of the gate switching device 1 to identify the malfunctioning part of the gate switching device 1.

As described above, by monitoring the waveform of the current supplied from the driver 4 to the solenoid 2, it is possible to easily find the malfunctioning part that causes the malfunction when the gate switching device 1 malfunctions. it can. Therefore,
No need to specify the malfunctioning part, and the malfunctioning part can be easily repaired.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without exceeding the scope of the invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the solenoid has been described as an example of the actuator, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to an actuator drive device including another actuator such as a motor. For example, even when the present invention is applied to an elevating device that includes a pulse motor as an actuator and elevates a cartridge holder of an optical disk device with respect to a spindle motor, the same effects as the above can be obtained.

[0032]

As described above, since the actuator driving device of the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, when the actuator is not operating properly, it is easy to find a defective operating point that causes the operating failure. Can be found at Therefore, the time required to repair the device can be shortened, and the malfunctioning part can be easily repaired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a gate switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a graph showing the relationship between the current detected by a detector incorporated in the device of FIG. 1 and its fall time.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of identifying a malfunctioning portion when the device of FIG. 1 malfunctions.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gate switching device, 2 ... Solenoid, 3 ... Support member, 3a ... Connection rod, 3b ... Support rod, 4 ... Driver, 5 ... Extension spring, 6 ... Wiring, 8 ... Detector, 10 ... Switching gate, 12 ... Sensor, 20 ... CPU, 21 ... Display unit, 30 ... Judgment unit, 32 ... Timer, 34 ... Waveform monitoring unit,
36 ... Memory.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A supply means for supplying a current, an actuator operated by the current supplied from the supply means, a drive mechanism driven by the actuator, a sensor for detecting an operation of the drive mechanism, Detecting means for detecting a current supplied from the supplying means to the actuator; and when the sensor does not detect the operation of the drive mechanism,
The waveform of the current detected by the detection means is compared with a predetermined reference waveform, and if the two waveforms match, it is determined that the sensor is defective. If the waveforms are different, at least one of the actuator and the drive mechanism is defective. An actuator drive device comprising: a determination unit that determines 2. The determining means comprises a comparing means for comparing the time from the start of the supply of the current by the supply means to the fall of the current with a predetermined reference time. 1. The actuator drive device according to 1. 3. A supply means for supplying an electric current, an actuator operated by the electric current supplied from the supply means, a wiring electrically connecting the supply means and the actuator, and driven by the actuator. A drive mechanism, a sensor for detecting the operation of the drive mechanism, a detection means for detecting a current supplied from the supply means to the actuator, and the supply means, wiring, when the detection means does not detect a current, And at least one defect of the actuator is determined, and when the detection unit detects the current and the sensor does not detect the operation of the drive mechanism, the waveform of the current detected by the detection unit is set as a predetermined reference waveform. If the two waveforms match, it is determined that the sensor is defective.If the two waveforms are different, the actuator and And a determination unit that determines a defect in at least one of the drive mechanism, and an actuator drive device. 4. The determination means comprises a comparison means for comparing a time from the start of the supply of the current by the supply means to the fall of the current with a predetermined reference time. 3. The actuator drive device according to item 3.