JPH08135697A - Torque control device for rotary shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a torque control device which has a simple structure and excellent controllability for torque without using a coil. CONSTITUTION: A liquid storing chamber 3 in which electroviscous fluid R is housed is formed in a housing 1. A rotary shaft 4 rotatably supported to the housing 1 penetrates the liquid storing chamber 3. An impeller 8 having a blade 8B is integrated with the rotary shaft 4 in the liquid storing chamber 3. A pair of electrodes 9A, 9B are oppositely arranged on the housing 1 faced to the liquid storing chamber 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary torque control device for controlling the rotary torque of a rotary shaft rotatably supported by a supporting member, and is a power transmission mechanism in all industrial fields such as vehicles and machine tools. Used as.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional rotary torque control device, a gear type rotor is integrally arranged around a rotary shaft, and a coil is wound around a tooth tip of the rotor so as to be wound with a gap therebetween.
There is a so-called eddy current type rotary torque control device that concentrates a magnetic flux at the tooth tip to generate an eddy current and thereby controls the rotation torque of a rotary shaft. This is often used because it has excellent controllability when combined with an electric circuit, easy remote operation, easy rotation torque control, and the like.

[0003]

According to such a conventional eddy current type rotary torque control device, the coil is an essential structure for generating an eddy current, and the need for such a coil causes the following problems. Have. As the coil, a copper wire having a relatively small wire diameter is often used, and the coil winding operation on the coil bobbin must be carefully performed so as not to cause disconnection. According to this, the number of man-hours required for winding work is increased, and the work for confirming coil breakage after winding is required, resulting in high manufacturing cost, which is not preferable. The winding start line and winding end line of the coil must be fixedly connected to each terminal implanted in the coil bobbin by soldering, electric welding, etc.
In particular, the work of fixing the ends of the coil having a small wire diameter to the terminals needs to be performed carefully. The coil must have no inter-layer short circuit within the laminated windings, a confirmation test is required, and further, in order to prevent the coil from becoming distorted after winding, It was necessary to perform adhesion with an adhesive tape or an adhesive on the outer peripheral surface of the.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and eliminates the use of a coil and solves the above-mentioned inconvenience caused by having a coil, and has an extremely simple structure and excellent controllability of rotational torque. An object is to provide a rotation torque control device for a rotating shaft.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object,
According to the present invention, a housing having a liquid storage chamber sealed inside, a rotary shaft penetrating the liquid storage chamber and rotatably supported by the housing, and a rotary shaft facing the liquid storage chamber are integrally mounted. An impeller having a plurality of blade portions that are attached and extend toward the outer circumferential side of the rotation axis, and a pair of electrodes that are arranged facing each other in the liquid storage chamber,
The first feature is that the electrorheological fluid is housed and arranged in the liquid storage chamber.

Further, according to the present invention, a housing having a liquid storage chamber hermetically sealed therein, a rotary shaft penetrating the liquid storage chamber and rotatably supported by the housing, and a rotary shaft facing at least the liquid storage chamber. A cylindrical first electrode made of a conductive material that is integrally attached to the liquid storage chamber; a plurality of blades extending from the first electrode facing the liquid storage chamber toward the outside of the circumference; An annular second electrode facing the first electrode and disposed in the housing, and a brush electrically connected to the first electrode are provided, and the electrorheological fluid is stored in the liquid storage chamber. The second feature is the arrangement.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a rotary torque control device for a rotary shaft according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the rotation torque control device, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a housing in which a cylindrical recess 1A is provided rightward from a flat mounting surface at the left end in FIG. 1, and 2 is disposed on the mounting surface of the housing 1 to close the recess 1A. It is a cover to do.
The recess 1A of the housing 1 is closed by the cover 2 to form a closed cylindrical liquid storage chamber 3.

A rotary shaft 4 is rotatably supported by a bearing 5 mounted on the cover 2 and a bearing 6 mounted on the housing 1. A left end 4A of the rotary shaft 4 projects leftward from the cover 2. The right end 4B penetrates substantially the center of the cylindrical liquid storage chamber 3 and projects rightward from the housing 1. For example, the left end 4A of the rotary shaft 4 serves as an input shaft, while the right end 4A of the rotary shaft 4 is used.
B forms an output shaft.

An impeller 8 is composed of the following. 8A is
An annular attachment shaft portion fitted to the outer circumference of the rotary shaft 4, and the attachment shaft portion is formed by implanting a plurality of plate-shaped blade portions 8B radially protruding outward in the circumference. To be done. This blade 8
The tip of B reaches the vicinity of the inner circumference of the cylindrical recess 1A. Six blades 8B in this example were arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of the attachment shaft 8A.

The impeller 8 is fixed by fitting the attachment shaft portion 8A to the outer periphery of the rotary shaft 4 in the liquid storage chamber 3, whereby the blade portion 8B is fixed in the liquid storage chamber 3. It is rotatably arranged inside.

Further, 9A and 9B are a pair of electrodes, which are attached to the housing 1 and are arranged facing each other facing the liquid storage chamber 3. The pair of electrodes 9A and 9B are not in contact with the blade portion 8B of the impeller 8 and are insulated from each other.

An electrorheological fluid R is filled in the liquid storage chamber 3 in which the rotary shaft 4 is inserted and the impeller 8 is integrally provided on the outer periphery of the rotary shaft. This electrorheological fluid R was published in 1993 in "Functions and Applications of Electrorheological Fluids"("Powder and Engineering" VOL25, No3, P.
50-55) and the like, and the electrorheological fluid R is, for example, a dispersion of electrically polarizable particles such as carbon particles in an insulating oil such as silicone oil.

When a voltage is applied to the electrorheological fluid R, the viscosity of the electrorheological fluid between the electrodes continuously changes from a liquid state to a solid state according to the applied voltage. . That is, the electrorheological fluid R
Is a colloidal solution of small viscosity that has fluidity when no voltage is applied, and has an electrorheological effect in which the fluidity is lost instantaneously when a voltage is applied and the viscosity increases according to the applied voltage.

This is because when a voltage is applied to the electrorheological fluid R, the electric field generated between the electrodes polarizes the particles dispersed in the electrorheological fluid, and this polarization generates a force attracting the particles to each other. It is considered that the particles are arranged in a bead shape in the meantime, and the chain of the particles hinders the flow of the fluid, so that the apparent viscosity of the fluid increases.

Next, the operation will be described. Rotating shaft 4
When a rotational force is applied to the left end 4A as the input shaft of, the rotating shaft 4 rotates. Then, the rotating shaft 4 synchronously rotates the impeller 8 in the liquid storage chamber 3, and outputs a rotational force outward from the output shaft of the right end 4B.

When a large rotational torque is output from the right end 4B of the rotary shaft 4 serving as an output shaft during the rotation of the rotary shaft 4, the following operation is performed. At this time, no voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 9A and 9B. Therefore, the particles of the electrorheological fluid R stored in the liquid storage chamber 3 are in a dispersed state and have the viscosity that the fluid has in its natural state, that is, the smallest viscosity. The impeller 8 arranged rotates in the electrorheological fluid R having such a small viscosity. According to the above, the rotary shaft 4 receives the smallest rotation restraining force by the impeller 8. According to this, the rotary torque applied to the rotary shaft 4 is the largest from the right end 4B as the output shaft. Can be output to the outside.

Next, output of a small rotational torque from the right end 4B of the rotary shaft 4 will be described. In such a case,
A voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 9A and 9B. According to this, the dispersed particles in the electrorheological fluid R stored in the liquid storage chamber 3 are polarized, the particles are attracted to each other by this polarization, and the particles are arranged in a beaded shape between the electrodes 9A and 9B to form a chain of particles. As a result, the apparent viscosity of the electrorheological fluid R becomes large.

Then, when the impeller 8 rotates in synchronization with the rotating shaft 4 in the electrorheological fluid R in the liquid storage chamber 3 of which the viscosity has increased, the impeller 8 moves to the above-mentioned large electrorheological fluid. A large rotation restraining force is applied due to the viscosity of R. According to this, the rotation torque output from the right end 4B of the rotary shaft 4 is controlled to a small torque state and output.

The viscosity of the electrorheological fluid R is
Depending on the voltage applied between the electrodes 9A and 9B, it has a small viscosity at a small voltage and a large viscosity when a large voltage is applied. The electroviscosity depends on the degree of the applied voltage. The viscosity of the fluid R can be continuously changed from a liquid state to a solid state.

Therefore, the left end 4 as the input shaft of the rotary shaft 4
The rotation torque applied to A depends on the degree of the voltage applied to the electrorheological fluid R in the liquid storage chamber 3 via the electrodes 9A and 9B from the right end 4B of the rotation shaft 4 as the output shaft,
The rotational torque can be linearly controlled and output.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the rotation torque control device, and FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.
In addition, the same reference numerals are used for the same structural parts as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 10 denotes a first electrode made of a conductive material. The first electrode 10 has a cylindrical shape and is integrally fixed to the outer circumference of the rotary shaft 4 in the liquid storage chamber 3 and The right side of the first electrode 10 is
The cylindrical recess 1 </ b> A extends from the bottom 1 </ b> B toward the inside of the housing 1 and is supported by the housing 1. Then, the first electrode 10 rotates in synchronization with the rotating shaft 4. 11
Is a brush that is brought into contact with the outer circumference of the first electrode 10 supported by the housing 1 by the elastic force of the spring 12 and electrically connected to the first electrode 10. A voltage is applied via this brush 11.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a plate-shaped blade portion arranged in the liquid storage chamber 3, and the blade portion radially protrudes from the first electrode 10 toward the outer circumferential side. The base of the blade 13 is implanted in the first electrode 10, and the tip of the blade 13 reaches the vicinity of the inner circumference of the cylindrical recess 1A. Six blades 13 in this example were arranged on the circumference of the first electrode 10 at equal intervals.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a ring-shaped second electrode arranged so as to face the liquid storage chamber 3 of the housing 1. According to this, the first electrode 10 and the second electrode 14 face each other in a ring shape. And the blade portion 13 is
Existing between the electrode 10 and the second electrode 14.

According to the second embodiment, the brush 1 is attached to the first electrode 10 that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the rotary shaft 4.
A voltage is applied via 1. Then, when a voltage is applied to the first electrode 10 and the second electrode 14 in order to control the rotation torque of the rotation shaft 4, the particles of the electrorheological fluid R stored in the liquid storage chamber 3 are generated. , Particle chains are formed from the first electrode 10 toward the second electrode 14. And
The chain of particles extends from the outer periphery of the first electrode 10 to the second electrode 1
Since it is radially formed in the entire circumferential direction toward 4, the viscosity of the electrorheological fluid R can be effectively given to the blade portion 13 as compared with the first embodiment. According to the above, the rotation torque of the rotary shaft 4 can be controlled more effectively.

[0025]

As described above, according to the first feature of the rotary torque control device for a rotary shaft according to the present invention, the rotary shaft having the impeller attached thereto is rotatably supported in the liquid storage chamber formed in the housing. And a pair of electrodes are arranged facing the liquid storage chamber and an electrorheological fluid is further stored in the liquid storage chamber, so that the rotational torque output from the rotating shaft according to the voltage applied to the pair of electrodes is It was possible to control continuously and variably. And, since the coil is not used for controlling the rotating torque of the rotating shaft, the winding work management by having the coil, the work for confirming the coil disconnection, the work for fixing and connecting to each terminal of the coil end, the coil interlayer This eliminates the need for the work of confirming a short circuit and the work of adhering the outer peripheral surface of the coil, and the manufacture thereof is extremely easy and inexpensive.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical first electrode is fixed to the rotary shaft facing the liquid storage chamber containing the electrorheological fluid, and the first electrode is opposed to the first electrode. Then, the annular second electrode is arranged so as to face the liquid storage chamber, and the plurality of blade portions are arranged from the first electrode toward the outer circumferential side, so that the viscosity of the electrorheological fluid is further effectively increased. The blade can be applied to the blades, so that the rotational torque can be controlled more effectively.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a rotary torque control device for a rotary shaft according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the rotary torque control device for a rotary shaft according to the present invention.

4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Housing 3 Liquid Storage Chamber 4 Rotating Shaft 8 Impeller 8B Blades 9A, 9B Pair of Electrodes R Electrorheological Fluid 10 First Electrode 11 Brush 13 Blade 14 Second Electrode

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A housing 1 having a liquid storage chamber 3 hermetically sealed therein, a rotary shaft 4 penetrating through the liquid storage chamber 3 and rotatably supported by the housing 1, and a liquid storage chamber 3 inside. An impeller 8 having a plurality of blades 8B integrally attached to the facing rotating shaft 4 and extending outward in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 4, and facing the inside of the liquid storage chamber 3 and facing each other. And a pair of electrodes 9A and 9B formed as described above, and the electrorheological fluid R is housed and arranged in the liquid storage chamber 3 as described above. 2. A housing 1 having a liquid storage chamber 3 hermetically sealed therein, a rotary shaft 4 penetrating through the liquid storage chamber 3 and rotatably supported by the housing 1, and at least in the liquid storage chamber 3. The cylindrical first electrode 10 made of a conductive material and integrally attached to the rotating shaft 4 facing the liquid storage chamber 3, and a plurality of electrodes extending outward from the circumference from the first electrode 10 facing the liquid storage chamber 3. Faces the blade portion 13 and the liquid storage chamber 3,
An annular second electrode 14 disposed in the housing 1 so as to face the first electrode 10 and a brush 11 electrically connected to the first electrode 10 are provided, and the electroviscosity is provided in the liquid storage chamber. A rotation torque control device for a rotating shaft, characterized in that a fluid R is stored and arranged.